Renaissance
by Delenasfangirl
Summary: Post 3x22/My prediction/what I want for season 4. Elena wakes up a vampire to two scared-to-death brothers and a whole mess of trouble she doesn't know about yet. Let's see how this situation unfolds, shall we?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries and it's characters are of their respective owners. I write FanFiction merely for entertainment purposes and I do not profit from writing these stories.**

I can't wait for next season, but until October comes, we're just going to have to satisfy ourselves with fics, fan videos and re-runs. So, I figured I would contribute to the hiatus surviving. Let me know what you think, this will be my first multi-chapter story and it will probably go on until the season starts and negates all of my predictions with it's stupid unpredictability.

No smut yet, but just you wait!

Anyway, enjoy, and tell me what you think!

* * *

Damon's mind was ringing with the words he had just heard from Meredith, "I helped her," she had said, "she needed my help." The blood in his veins was pounding, and his legs were moving rapidly, propelled by a single goal: he needed to get to her, she needed him, and she was coming back.

All of his senses were on overdrive and honed in on the door at the end of the darkened hallway. Suddenly, the vampire froze in his tracks at the sound of a single, loud, strangled gasp.

_Elena._

He threw caution to the wind and shot himself through the door, it hit the wall with a hard bang and his eyes connected with hers, brown, glistening, and panicked. His eyes too, were wide, his expression exuding a kind of feral fear. She was sitting up, staring at him and Damon stared back, only vaguely aware of his little brother's now-upright form.

In fact, it was that same brother that first broke the tension. He leaned forward and touched her arm, "Elena?"

She jumped a little and wrenched her head around to look at him, "Stefan?" Her reply was strangled and confused, "Stefan, what happened?"

Stefan seemed at a loss for words, he gripped her shoulders to comfort her, "You…" he trailed off, unable to break the news.

Damon spoke up, "You're in transition."

She looked up at him at the sound of his voice. It took her a moment to absorb the information, "I what? How?"

"Well," Damon walked towards the couple, "Little Miss Malpractice Mer over there injected you with vampire blood when you came in the other day. Apparently, you're little concussion was a lot less little and a lot more brain-damagey than she originally let on. But what I would like to know," he looked straight at Stefan, "is how in the hell she _died_ under what was supposed to be your protection!"

Stefan tensed. His eyes were still teary from his brooding session over Elena's body. He looked like he was about to say something, but when he looked at his brother's ferocious glare, thought better of it. He hung his head in shame and Damon knew that he really wasn't going to like the answer.

This time, Elena spoke first. She swung her legs off the table she had awoken on and stood up in front of Damon. "I drowned," she stated simply. Damon's eyes widened in shock. "Matt was driving me back into town and we started crossing Wickery Bridge," Damon's expression had turned to one of furrowed concentration, he nodded in understanding. "Then all of a sudden, Rebekah showed up in the headlights and I panicked and Matt panicked and swerved and we drove off the bridge." Her voice cracked as she recounted the story. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and her face paled at the memory.

Damon's chest contracted around his heart and he couldn't help himself but pull her into his arms. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like, meeting her death in the same place and in the same way she had almost died only a year-and-a-half ago. He rubbed her back to soothe her, he cradled her, and leaned his cheek atop her head.

Her eyes closed, and she rested her head on his chest. She took a moment for herself to appreciate that he was alive. He made it through. And she was there to see him again. She enjoyed the moment she knew to be fleeting, after all, the end of the story was really going to piss him off.

"There's more," she mumbled. He broke them apart to look at her.

"Okay," he said apprehensively.

"When I was down there, in the water, Matt was knocked out and I kept flashing back to my parent's accident and I remembered Stefan showing up," Damon's insides twitched a little with jealousy, but she continued talking, "but then Stefan actually did show up," she breathed and watched Damon's recognition unfold on his face, "and he was about to save me," she hesitated, anticipating Damon's wrath, "but I wouldn't let him. I told him to save Matt. And he did."

She held her breath and she watched Damon's face turn from shock, to realization, to pure, unadulterated fury.

"He _what_?"

Stefan finally spoke up, "I didn't save her," he admitted, "I was there, but there wasn't time and she told me to save Matt, so I let her decide. It was her decision. I did what she wanted me to do." He stood firm, though his wavering voice gave away his guilt.

"Damon," she warned, holding him back with a hand on his chest, "I told him to do it. I told him to save Matt. It's not his fault!"

Ripples of rage were radiating from Damon's body as he glared at Stefan with disgust. He addressed Elena, but his eyes never left his brother, "No, Elena. It is." His voice was low and menacing. He now spoke to Stefan, "I promised you that I would protect her, brother, do you remember that?" His voice began to rise, "You looked at me straight in the eye and asked me to swear that I would protect _your girlfriend _and the one time, the _one time_ we decide that you're going to go back and take your rightful place as her knight in shining armor, you just let her die?" He was yelling now. "No! You know what? Go to hell!"

Stefan looked down at his feet in compliance and remained silent.

Damon looked down at Elena, whose hands had moved up to grip his shoulders, "Elena, it is our job to protect you. That is why we are here. This is what _we_," he looked up at Stefan then back to Elena, "have dedicated ourselves to do and I cannot accept that he failed you." He looked down and shook his head, "I can't trust him around you anymore, Elena." He looked back up into her eyes, "Not after he left you alone in that river."

"It was my decision," she whispered, willing him to understand.

He reached to her face and held her cheeks in his hands, "I know, it's what we do," he breathed and she could almost taste him, "We live and we die for each other," a tear slid down her cheek and she stroked one of his hands, "But if I had been there, this wouldn't have happened to you—I can't forgive him for this."

"But you _weren't_ there Damon, you had no control over this outcome," she pleaded into his eyes, "Matt's alive, you're alive, I'm…" she paused, "less alive than I was, but way more alive than I could've been." She smiled up at him in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Damon remained unaffected by her pathetic strife for humor. "No control over the outcome?" He exploded, tore himself from her grasp and raised his hands in the air, frightening Elena, "No control? Of course I had control!" He looked into her eyes, "I could have come back to you, like I should have! Shit, I can't believe I even left you in the first place, what the hell was I thinking?" In the middle of his self-loathing rant, Damon realized something, "Wait, did you say Rebekah was the one who killed you?"

Elena looked confused and nodded, "Yeah."

"Shit!" Damon cursed, "I also could've let the bitch die!" Damon's fists were clenched and growls were coming from his throat as he ranted on, yelling at Stefan and yelling at himself.

Elena was scared. Damon had never exploded like this before. He was always the sudden outburst type who threw a glass into a fireplace but then was relatively easy to calm down. But she couldn't do it this time as she gathered he was probably just as angry with her right now as he was with Stefan.

She began to think back on all the times Damon had rushed frantically to save her life at the last minute and realized this must be killing him. She knew, though she didn't really like to remind herself, how much he loved her and…_Oh my god._ Elena's lost memories suddenly slammed into her like a shockwave and she stood still for a moment.

"Damon," she said suddenly. Her grave, angry tone cut Damon's tangent short. "Damon, what the hell did you do?"

Stefan looked confused while Damon just looked dumbfounded.

"Damon, why the hell do I suddenly have memories of you in my brain that weren't there before?" It was now Elena's turn to be livid.

Damon was quiet for a second before he let out an "Oh…yeah…shit."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries is not mine, and I do not profit from writing these stories.

And now we continue our journey!

Enjoy!

* * *

Damon sidled himself up to the bar at Mystic Grill with a smirk on his face. The situation at the hospital had not ended well at all. After Elena's memories came back and she started berating Damon for his actions, he refused to back down and started questioning her about her intentions about going through with the transition.

He couldn't help it. He was so pissed at Stefan and so powerfully in love with her that he just lost it. It was painful enough that he had been carrying around the burden of those memories by himself for all that time, but then he had to watch her go back to his brother, even after she remembered. Finally, he stormed out after Stefan had intervened, using himself as a blockade between Damon and Elena.

_Shit little brother hasn't even been around the last six months and then has the Goddamn audacity to try to protect her from me_, Damon thought to himself as he ordered a scotch—neat.

But despite all of those possibly overwhelming emotions, the reason for Damon's smirk betrayed what was really going on in his head. Elena was alive. She survived. All of her misfortune had finally caught up with her, and still, his girl always beat the odds. Of all the feelings bubbling up inside the leather-clad vampire, relief was definitely the most acute, with a pretty sharp twinge of pride.

"Damon, is she alright?" Damon turned to face Meredith, who had a concerned look on her face, and a pointedly defensive stance.

His lips curved up into a polite smile and he nodded, "Yeah. She's awake. A little shaken up, but alive."

Meredith nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, "Good." She turned to go.

When she turned, suddenly Damon was in front of her and she jumped in fright. She opened her mouth to speak but Damon was faster. "Thank you," he said sincerely, "if you hadn't done what you did, Elena would really be gone, and I couldn't live with that."

Meredith smiled a small smile, "Thank yourself, it was your blood that saved her." She reached up to pat his shoulder, "Tell Elena good luck with the transition."

Meredith walked off, leaving Damon standing shell-shocked. _His blood, Elena had been turned with his blood_. He didn't really know how he felt about it. Sure, there was a little bit of pride in the fact, but something told him that being Elena's sire wasn't really going to work in his favor.

Damon looked at his phone. It was 4:17 a.m. meaning Elena had been awake for about an hour now. He blurred out of the Grill, his previous mood replaced with single-minded determination.

* * *

Back at the Gilbert House, Stefan was following Elena through the front door. "Jeremy!" She called into the house.

"Elena?" Her brother appeared at the top of the stairs, he looked like he had been crying. "Oh my God, Elena!" He practically flew down, scooped her up into a bone-crushing hug, and started sobbing into her shoulder, he cried, "How are you here?" and blubbered something about Ric and ghosts.

Brother and sister held each other for a few precious moments as Stefan stood watching. Jeremy continued to cry as Elena whispered soothing words in his ear, stroking the back of his neck, "It's okay, I'm okay, we're okay."

She could feel her hunger rising inside when Jeremy's scent hit her nose, she wasn't prepared for it, but he was crying, and the sounds of his sobs kept her rooted in reality. She couldn't hurt Jeremy, Jeremy needed her.

Finally, the pulled apart and Jeremy clutched his sister's waist, "What happened? I thought you died."

Elena nodded and took a deep breath, "I did Jeremy," She whispered, "But I had vampire blood in my system from the hospital. I'm in transition."

He embraced her again, "Oh thank God!" Impossibly, his hug seemed even tighter this time. "It'll be okay," he assured her, "We've been through other people's transitions before. I'll be here for you, it's okay. We've just got to get you some blood."

Elena stiffened in his arms, and Jeremy paused, pulling away to look at her, "You _are_ going to go through with the transition, aren't you?"

Elena couldn't look him in the eye, which spoke plenty for her brother.

"What? Elena! You have to! You got another chance at life! You can't just pass that up! You can't leave me alone!"

"I…I know that Jer. But I never wanted this, this wasn't the plan."

"Screw the plan! You can decide to kill yourself later, right now, we have got to get some blood in you. I am not going to let you die, Elena." She noticed with some sadness that Jeremy's anger seemed so much more adult than it used to. It no longer held that familiar hint of childishness in it. Now, all that remained was hardened grief and determination. Hell, he was barely fazed by the news that she was in transition. When had life turned out this way?

She also beamed a little at what a man he had become, with a temperament that almost matched Damon's. She didn't know why, but that gave her some comfort.

Her sentimental thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the doorframe. She turned to find Damon leaning against it. He had a solemn and apologetic look on his face.

Stefan spoke up, "Damon, Elena does not need this right now."

Damon's hands flew up in mock-defensiveness, "I come in peace!" He declared, "I just wanted to come and see if Elena needed anything. We are kind of on a time crunch here. We don't want her indecisiveness to kill her. You know how her natural characteristics are a little heightened right now."

Elena groaned and rolled her eyes, "Oh, very funny."

Damon's tone became serious once more, "How are you doing?"

She thought about it before she responded, "I feel really awake, strange, wired and really, really hungry. But I know that it's not really hunger. It's thirst." She paused, "And it hurts."

"Well," Damon said, pulling a blood bag from his breast pocket, "I come bearing gifts." He walked towards her, offering it.

She eyed it wearily with a hint of savagery in her eye. The idea of becoming a vampire terrified her. But Jeremy needed her and it smelled so good.

At that thought, she felt every other inhibition float away and she walked in a trance-like state toward the blood bag, imagining the life-essence inside. She could practically feel the new world awaiting her, just on the other side of her next decision. The heightened senses, the immortality, the emotions…

"_Grief_," Stefan had said, "_Becomes despair. It can cripple you_."

She wrenched her sight from the bag and gasped, a tear leaked out of her eye. "Damon," she said, "I don't know if I can do this." Then she turned around and ran upstairs to her room, collapsing on her bed to cry.

Damon heard her whimpers from downstairs and turned to Jeremy. "Elena has to turn," he said."

"I know."

"She's not going to do it for me, obviously. She's not going to do it for Stefan. The only person she's going to do it for is you."

Stefan thought about joining the conversation, but thought the better of it.

* * *

Back in her room, Elena was having a hard time. She had so many things she was supposed to do. She needed to talk all of this out. She needed Stefan to explain to her again what being a vampire was like. She needed Jeremy to be okay. And she really needed to yell at Damon some more.

But all she could think about was how he had rejected him only hours before. Her last words to him alive broke his heart. She thought that if she distanced herself from him, she could try to live a more human life, set him free, see where things with Stefan were headed before they were completely interrupted by tragedy.

But now everything was different. They had both survived, but she was now faced with the challenge of dealing with transitioning, controlling her emotions and bloodlust, as well as all of the Original drama, poor Matt, and the repercussions of the latest battle.

And she still hadn't mourned Alaric. So far, she had suppressed her tears in favor of getting through the day. But she knew once she transitioned, all of that grief was going to come right back to the surface. Hell, it was already bubbling near the edge, with the heightened emotions, it was all just going to come pouring out. She didn't know if she could survive.

And even more than that, Elena felt selfish for feeling like this, but she was angry. Her entire future was being ripped away from her. She knew she would never have children. She would never get married. She would never be able to stay in one place for too long for fear of being discovered and freaking someone out. And once she past a certain age, nothing would ever be hers again. She would never have the right to anything in this world, because she knew that she wasn't supposed to be in it.

She was supposed to be dead. She was supposed to die two years ago under Wickery Bridge. But a vampire had saved her. She was supposed to become a vampire last summer. But a random loophole in the universe saved her from that fate too.

Now she was dead and the future that she had fought so hard for, what so many of her loved ones had died for, that future was gone. She lost. So, she cried.

Elena cried for forty-five minutes. It was around 5:30 and the sky was lightening. When her sobs simmered down to mere snivels, she heard a soft knock at her door, "Elena, it's Jeremy."

"Jer? Come on in." She sat up and sniffled. He came to her bedside and sat at her feet.

"Elena, I know you feel like you shouldn't be alive right now," she looked up at him, but didn't respond, "but we live in a world with vampires and magic. There are different rules. Truth be told, I should definitely be dead right now." He chuckled, "So I need you to look at it like this: you have been given another chance at life. You have more time to do all of the things you've always wanted. And now you're just less vulnerable and might one day have to face living for, you know, ever." He tried smiling at her, "But for now, we just have to keep on surviving."

She sniffed before fresh tears began streaming down her face. "Okay," she said. She flung herself into her little brother's arms and once again, felt the need she knew would only be worse in a few hours, after she transitioned. And despite the comfort she felt in his arms, all she could feel was an overwhelming sense of dread.

When they pulled apart she looked up at him and asked, "Could you send Damon up here, please?"

She expected Jeremy to hesitate, or look confused. Instead he just got up and said, "Sure."

"Damon!" He called as he left the room.

Elena squared her shoulders in preparation of the arrival of the elder Salvatore. She needed him, but first she needed to get out her annoyance with him.

Damon made his way up to Elena's room at human speed. He had a bit of a spring in his step. The kid worked his magic, Elena would complete the transition. She would live. A smile began to creep around his eyes.

Elena's face did not comply with Damon's. Instead, the feisty glare from earlier that evening had returned.

"We need to talk Damon," she said.

"I know," he nodded.

"You compelled me. Twice."

"I know," he repeated.

"How could you?" Their argument erupted from there.

"I don't know Elena! The same way I always do stupid things! And in case you forgot, the first time I compelled you, I was evil, remember? That night, I was lying in the road waiting for dinner! And then you showed up looking like Katherine, who, as you know I had been pining over for the last 145 years. Except you were _so_ not Katherine. You had all that 16-year-old innocence in your eyes, and I could tell you were totally crushing on me. And we flirted and still, you looked like Katherine!"

"Okay, fine! So your humanity was turned off and I caught you off guard! Still, though, why did you never tell me?"

"I don't know, I don't tell you a lot of things. I'm not your boyfriend, remember? I have my own life and my own secrets and sometimes I do things that are impulsive and I just have to deal with the consequences!"

"Consequences like me finding out, you mean? Well, I'm sorry if that puts a little dent in your master plan but-" Damon interrupted her.

"No! Consequences like having to carry around the knowledge that if I wasn't such a complete idiot that one time, you might have actually chosen me!"

That nice little confession shut them both up quickly and an awkward silence descended over the room.

Elena's heart was aching. Lately, she kept being reminded of how much he loved her and how much she was hurting him. So she spoke up, "I chose Stefan because I never got to finish what I started with him," she began. "I am always in danger and in this moment, he is who I need to be with. What I feel for you, it's not enough for us." She walked towards him. But he backed away, a pained look on his face.

"I love you, you love Stefan! It's the story of my life." His jaw clenched, "But I'm sorry, I'm going back on our deal. I'm not leaving. I am staying here and seeing this through. You and Stefan can deal with your little teen drama. But you need help with your transition and learning to control the bloodlust, and frankly, Baby Bro really isn't equipped to take conduct that train and even though you will be a vampire, you're still probably going to need all the protection you can get. You're like a walking trouble-magnet."

Elena rolled her eyes, and almost smiled. "Wait, hold on! What do you mean deal? What do you mean, leave?" She breathed in a strangled, vulnerable breath, "Where were you going?"

"I…" Damon didn't know if he should tell her or not, but he figured he was already in deep enough trouble for lying to her, "We, Stefan and I agreed that whoever you didn't choose would leave town and let the other live out the rest of your life with you."

"What? Why?" Elena was getting angry again, "That is not fair! So, what? You were just going to abandon me? And do what, Damon? Go on an eighty-year quest to screw sorority chicks and drink yourself into oblivion?"

"Well, I hadn't really thought about it, but it doesn't sound like such a horrible concept! What do you care anyway? Now that Stefan's back on Team Elena, what the hell would you need me around for?"

Elena replied quietly, "If you even have to ask me that question, you really haven't been paying attention these last few months."

* * *

Author's Note: This whole situation will probably be kind of slow moving. These two have a lot of stuff to talk out. Fortunately, though, there is some danger and desperation ahead! :)

Tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries and I write Fanfiction for pure entertainment.

Author's Note: Enjoy and don't forget to review!

* * *

"If you even have to ask me that question, you really haven't been paying attention these last few months."

Damon froze. How in the world was he supposed to respond to something like that? He shook it off, planting a nonchalant look on his face.

"Elena. We don't have time for this. I get it, you're pissed. You can yell at me all you want later. Right now," he pulled out the blood bag, "you need to feed."

Elena's eyes narrowed in on the blood. Her body was aching and she could feel her time running out. She wasn't supposed to be alive. She was dying. If she wanted to keep going, she needed the blood.

She looked up at Damon, his eyes were imploring, but she could also see a deep sadness somewhere behind the determination and icy blue. All of a sudden, Elena knew he understood her grief, because he was feeling it too. He didn't want her to be a vampire anymore than she did, but he wasn't going to let her die again.

She took another deep breath, "Okay," she resolved.

Jeremy and Stefan suddenly appeared at the door. Damon and Elena stepped away from each other and she looked at the young men in her doorway with a sad smile. "Jeremy, you shouldn't be here to watch this," she said.

He shook his head and walked towards her, "No, you're my sister and I will always be here for you." He put his arms around her and kissed her head, "Besides, it's not like we Gilberts haven't had our fair share of drinking blood of one kind or another. I think I can handle it."

"Ugh," Elena groaned, "Not what I need to be reminded of right now."

He chuckled and they pulled apart, "You ready?" He asked.

She nodded, "It's time."

She walked over to her bed and sat down. Jeremy sat on her right with his arm around her shoulders. Stefan sat to her left and reached for her hand. She accepted and they shared a slight squeeze. Damon saw and his stomach lurched in a pang of jealousy.

He sat directly in front of her, pulled the tube out of the bag and handed it to her. She took it from him, immediately becoming transfixed on what was to become her first sip of blood, the agent for her transformation.

She felt Stefan tense next to her and saw his eyes begin to darken. "Are you going to be okay with this?" She asked.

He cleared his throat, trying to control the bloodlust. He looked away from the bag and nodded, "Yeah, I'll be okay."

Damon willed his brother to get it together. _This is not about you,_ his mind yelled. But he put his focus back on Elena. He reached over and squeezed her knee, and she looked up at him with a questioning look on her face.

He nodded in encouragement.

She nodded back and slowly raised the tube to her lips and sucked.

She moaned. The taste could only be described as…sinful. With every drop, her body became alight with the life she realized her body was craving. It was warm, it was addictive, it was…intoxicating. Her entire world centered on the bag and she had it drained within seconds.

She set it down with a loud cry and her head jerked back abruptly. A loud hiss erupted from her throat and she looked down at Damon. Her eyes were blackened, the veins had appeared around them, and the telltale fangs were jutting out from underneath her lips.

"More," she growled.

He quickly complied, pulling another bag from his jacket. After she drained it, and he handed her another one, he turned to Jeremy who had a horrified look on his face. "It's okay," he said, "I've got her, you should go, we don't want to risk it. That would only make things that much worse. She has enough to deal with."

Jeremy nodded, "I should go anyway. I have to open the Grill since Matt's still in the hospital." He got up, but turned to hug Elena. But at the sight of her devouring her fourth blood bag, thought better of it and left.

Elena didn't notice, she was completely invested in the feeding. When the blood bag was drained she opened her eyes in expectation. She had long since abandoned Stefan's hand and was now absolutely focused on the promise of Damon's supply of blood. She looked up at him in expectation. But he was to disappoint, "I only had four," he shrugged.

He looked at Elena. Her eyes were darting around the room quickly and conveyed a frantic desperation. Stefan was sitting next to her, completely focused on keeping himself from sucking out the few remaining drops in Elena's discarded blood bags.

"What a happy couple," Damon mumbled to himself. Then he sped to pick up all of the bags and ended up in front of his brother, whose head was now bent in shame. "Stefan?"

"Damon?" Elena's voice was tinged with fear and regret.

He got up to tend to her, "Elena? How do you feel?"

"I…" She didn't know what to say, "Where's Jeremy?" She clutched his forearm.

"He went to work."

She nodded, it was probably best since she could feel blood dribbling out the corner of her mouth.

She sprang up towards the bathroom. When she was in front of the mirror she stared at her reflection. There was a streak of blood pouring out of the corner of her mouth, her fangs were exposed and she stood, fixated, on the rippling veins underneath her eyes.

She hated them. There was nothing left to distinguish herself from Katherine. She could practically see herself attacking Jeremy.

She bent down towards the water and began scrubbing her face as tears began to develop in her eyes and stream down her face. God, what was Stefan's problem? Why couldn't he just be there for her? Why were things so complicated? It didn't seem that their relationship would be so easily fixed as she hoped. Poor Jeremy, he probably hated her now. She guessed he was probably really freaked out by her transformation, she was freaked out by it enough herself.

And for the love of God, why couldn't she get the thought of Damon's arms wrapped around her out of her head? When she touched him, her entire body responded and her mind immediately flashed to the hotel in Denver, his tongue moving through her mouth, at her jaw, across the stretch of her neck, down to the crest of her breasts. She immediately ached for the return of his hips grinding against hers.

Why did she feel that way? She'd buried those feelings for the past few weeks, why were they plaguing her _now_?

She looked back at the mirror and was confronted with the answer. _Oh yeah, I'm a vampire._

Her thoughts were interrupted by Damon, who suddenly appeared behind her. He put his hand on his back in concern, and a shiver went down her spine. "I should get you some more blood."

She spun around, a little too quickly as she still hadn't experimented with her new-and-improved speed. "What? You can't leave me here!"

Damon sighed, "Well, if you're still hungry I will have to leave you. It's daytime and you, my little vampire, are currently under house arrest by our good friend Mr. Sun."

"Well, I wasn't hungry anymore until you just brought it up!" She groaned.

He chuckled, "Aww, I'm sorry," a smirk appeared on his face.

Elena caught herself in the mirror again, "I can't get them to go away," she sighed.

"Hey, hey, look at me," she turned to him and he cupped her face in his hands, "It's okay, just try not to think about it too much."

She looked at him skeptically.

"You're still you, Elena. Nothing has changed that much," she scoffed in response. "You are still the same person you were ten minutes ago." She looked into his eyes and was lost in the contact. There he was, standing right in front of her, like she knew he would be. "Just breath," he instructed.

She closed her eyes and did as she was told. It took a few moments, but she was calming down. The pressure in her gums lessened, and her vision began to clear. She sniffed and opened her eyes.

Damon had a resigned look on his face, and he nodded at her approvingly.

"I told you, we always survive," she smiled up at him.

The memory those words brought back to Damon was painful. He had never had so much hope for him and Elena than that night in front of the fireplace. _And we all see how that turned out._

But he didn't let her see the pain. Instead, he just shook is head and chuckled, "That, we do."

Elena felt a great loss when Damon's hands dropped from her face, and she noticed that her previous hunger was beginning to be replaced by a different one entirely…

Damon rolled his eyes internally when he watched Elena's eyes drift down to his lips. She was always doing that, and one of these days, he was going to call her out on it. After all, now they had eternity.

"Should we check on Stefan?" Damon asked, regretting mentioning his brother almost instantly.

Elena nodded, "Yeah, probably."

They both left the bathroom, Damon following Elena, and found an empty bedroom, and an empty house.

Elena flopped down on the bed. "So, basically, I have to spend the rest of the day in this house by myself?"

Damon mulled it over, "Well, I do have a couple of errands to run, if you can wait?"

"Errands?" She inquired, "How could you possibly have errands at a time like this?"

Damon thought back to Alaric's body he had in his trunk, the witch who seemed to have disappeared, the murderous Original Blonde-bombshell, the drowning victim in the hospital, the hungry newborn sitting not six feet away from him, and where in the hell did Stefan go?

"Believe me," he said, "I have plenty." She looked disappointed, "But I can try to cut them short. Give me an hour?"

She breathed an exasperated sigh and finally surrendered. "Fine. One hour."

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

Elena shrugged, "yeah, I can hold down the fort for an hour."

He moved towards her, stroked her cheek and warned, "Stay in the shadows." Then, he was gone, and Elena was left dealing with an empty feeling and a tingling cheek.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter was really short and I'm sorry, but I figured you would prefer more frequent updates and short chapters over long chapters and few updates. So that's probably what's going to keep happening unless someone strongly objects.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries and I do not profit from writing these stories.

* * *

Damon trotted up the steps to the front door, there was an extra weight in his pocket and a bit of a spring in his step. _Wow, _he mused to himself, _I have never been here before, ever_.

He was nervous, he didn't know why, but he had that nagging tingly feeling in his stomach that wouldn't let him forget how momentarily self-conscious he really was. He tried to shake it off and rapped heavily on the door.

After a few moments, Bonnie answered.

"Damon?"

"Bonnie, where did you go?" Damon inquired, "I left you with Klaus's body, and the next thing I know, you're gone."

"Well," she had an apprehensive look on her face, "I was…"

He decided he didn't need to hear whatever fake excuse she was about to give him. "Never mind. We gotta go. Grab your witchy book and let's hit the road."

"What? Damon, I'm a little busy right now."

"You're right about that. You're helping me," he cocked his head towards his car, "Let's go."

"Tell me what's going on first."

He arrived at her house knowing he would have to tell her, but he really_ really_ didn't want to since he would, obviously, be the first to get stamped with the blame.

He didn't look her in the eyes when he stated, "Elena is a vampire and I need you to take a look in your little book and Reading Rainbow her to Sunshine Land." For a second, there was an awkward silence as Bonnie processed the information, and Damon braced himself for his favorite magic-induced migraine from hell.

"She what?" Bonnie's reaction was much tamer than Damon had anticipated. Instead of angry and vengeful, it was mainly just shocked and helpless.

"She's a vampire," he stated slowly, "She drowned and had vampire blood in her system. She completed the transition this morning with a blood bag."

Bonnie still looked shell-shocked.

"Stefan's gone AWOL and Elena needs looking after, but I can't stay at her house the whole time. She needs to be able to leave her house, she can't deal with this on her own." Bonnie was still out of it, so Damon shook her shoulders a little and said, "Bonnie. She needs you."

"Um," Bonnie snapped out of it, "Okay. But I need a ring. It has to have a lapis lazuli stone."

Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet ring box. He handed it to Bonnie, "How's this?"

When she opened the little box, her eyes widened. Damon certainly had put a lot of thought into the trinket. It was beautiful. The band was thin and silver, and curled around to the thin, ovular lapis lazuli stone, which was adorned with some tasteful metalwork.

"When did you find the time to get this?" Bonnie asked, incredulous, the ring was obviously expensive, and not something you were going to find in downtown Mystic Falls.

Damon shrugged, "I may have acquired it at one point after the last vampire scare."

Bonnie nodded solemnly, recalling the last time Elena was at Wickery Bridge.

* * *

Back at the Gilbert House, Elena was doing her best to keep her mind from wandering to blood. Whenever she succeeded, it was usually because it landed on the thought of her new memories.

The first one was what confused her the most. It was strange to have memories of feeling flirty, light-headed, extremely attracted to this new, mysterious stranger, and then remembering immediately not remembering.

Damon had been right though, at the time, she was young and idealistic. She did want passion and adventure, and an epic love story. Even with the loss of her parents, that desire never really went away—then she met Stefan and she thought she found everything she was looking for. In a way, she had.

Stefan might have been the good brother, but when she met him, he certainly seemed like the bad boy to her. He showed up at school with the mysterious demeanor and leather jacket and she was immediately attracted to him, to his mystery, and to the way he almost only paid attention to her. She was also really into the idea that he was new, and had no knowledge of her past, so she could be whoever she wanted to be around him, and after a while, she realized the person she was when she was with Stefan was simply herself. Sure, she had changed as she was no longer the giddy young girl she once was, but she wasn't so crippled with grief either—just hardened.

But now, she realized, she and Damon had a connection she never knew about before. He saw her before the accident, before her whole world came crashing down around her. They talked and he had her pegged almost immediately. "You want a love that consumes you," he said, "You want passion, adventure, and even a little danger."

She remembered feeling incredibly giddy. Damon was hot, there was no denying that. He was also charming and one of the most interesting people she had ever seen pass through her tiny hamlet. She figured he must have been from out of town, and probably lived the life she only dreamed of. In those cerulean eyes, she could almost see everything she wanted—love, adventure, travel, wisdom, fervor, and happiness. She could also see the man behind those eyes, someone who had experienced a lot, for sure, but a lot of it was probably deeply sad.

Elena smiled at how right her initial impression of Damon had been, and she couldn't help but notice the deep contrast with her next meeting with Damon. He was so much more pessimistic then, declaring himself a fatalist and already scheming to tear a rift between her and Stefan. She knew now that between the two meetings, his guard had gone back up and he reminded himself that he was in love with Katherine and was supposed to be making his brother's life miserable.

She wanted to yell at Damon again. When she was talking to him on the phone last night and she said, "Maybe if you and I had met first," she was only trying to soften the blow. But now she knew how true her words rang.

She _did_ meet Damon first and that _did_ change things.

Then, there was the other memory of Damon's love confession in his room. That one was just downright painful to think about, especially because she had always known something happened that night. Her necklace had mysteriously reappeared and her window was open. She wasn't stupid, but she wasn't particularly scared either, an overwhelming sense of excitement had suddenly enveloped her. At the time, she didn't know where it came from. Today, it made perfect sense.

She was so proud of him. She had no idea he could be so selfless like that. It was a beautiful moment, and while she was pissed at him for compelling her, she was glad she could cherish it now. Clearly, there were things about Damon she didn't know, and she hadn't made a completely informed decision last night when Damon confronted her about her true feelings.

Of course, she hadn't wanted to make a decision at all. What she wanted was more time to figure things out.

She shook her head at the irony that she needed to die in order to get it.

She couldn't believe the brothers had agreed that one of them would leave. She knew it was Stefan's idea and a bit of resentment started to weasel its way into her psyche.

What else were they not telling her? And where the hell was Stefan, anyway?

There was a knock at the door and Elena sighed. She might be nervous, except she knew there was no way to answer it. There was a block of sunlight between the edge of her bed and the door to her room. Even if by some miracle she could go out by way of Jeremy's, opening the door really wasn't an option if she was going to keep herself from catching on fire. In the end though, it didn't matter because seconds later she heard the door open and Damon call, "Elena?"

"I'm stuck on the bed!" She called back, relieved he finally returned.

When Damon saw her pushed up against her headboard, he rolled his eyes, "Ever think about closing the shades?"

Elena shrugged, "By the time I thought about it, it was too late." She flinched remembering the burning sensation on her fingertips when they wrapped around the curtains. She looked behind Damon and gasped, "Bonnie?"

Damon stepped aside to let her pass, "Elena?" Bonnie was hesitant, she knew Elena was a newborn and she didn't want to have to give her an aneurysm on her first day. Besides, Bonnie had a few secrets of her own that she was feeling guilty about. She thought back to her creation, who was hiding God-knows-where.

"Do you know?"

Bonnie nodded and tears began forming in her eyes, "Damon told me." Elena bent her head in shame, she didn't know if Bonnie still loved her. But her fears were silenced when Bonnie moved towards her and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "You're going to be okay," she said, "I'm so glad you're alive."

Elena didn't correct her and nodded into her friend's shoulder, also beginning to cry.

"I'm here to give you a daylight ring," Bonnie said when the girls pulled away from each other.

Elena's eyes widened in question, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Damon spoke up, "We can't have you holed up in here for all eternity. You might get boring."

Elena laughed and rolled her eyes. Bonnie backed up, pulled the ring out of her pocket, and placed it on the sun-strip in front of Elena on the bed. Damon handed Bonnie the Grimoire and immediately went to sit at Elena's side. The trio reverted to silence. Bonnie closed her eyes and tilted her head back for a few moments, the great book poised in her hands.

Sooner than Elena anticipated, Bonnie looked back down. "It's done," she declared.

Damon moved forward and picked the ring up from out of the sunlight. He intended to hand it to Elena, but she had her hand poised for him to put it on. He smirked, not about to let such a prime opportunity pass. So instead of putting the ring on her finger, he took her readied hand in his and bowed before her mockingly.

"Elena Gilbert?"

She groaned playfully, "What?"

"Will you…" he paused for dramatic effect, "take a walk with me?"

Elena laughed and Bonnie rolled her eyes, _Those two really need to just get it on already,_ she thought. Not, of course, that she approved of the situation or anything, but even she knew the sexual tension was getting a little ridiculous.

"Sure thing, Salvatore," Elena said and Damon slipped the ring onto the middle finger of her left hand.

Elena stared at the ring, "That's…really pretty," she said.

Damon smirked, "No problem. Pretty ring for a pretty girl."

Elena chuckled to hide her blushing, "Thanks."

Damon rose from the bed and said, "We should get you something to eat." He turned to Bonnie, "I'll drive you home."

"Actually, could you take me to the hospital? I wanted to check on Matt."

"Perfect! We'll stock up on blood bags and you'll go see our drowning victim!"

Elena spoke up, "I want to check on Matt, too, actually. So it's even more perfect."

Damon shook his head, "Oh no, you are not coming into the hospital with me. You do not need all of that blood around you making you crazy."

"So what, you're just going to leave me in the car?"

Damon shrugged, "There's far less temptation than inside, and I'll be in and out faster than you can say 'I've got 99 problems and blood cravings ain't one.'"

Elena was nervous. She had a daylight ring, so now there was nothing to stop her from feeding on the whole town. Except her own self-control, which was a little on the fritz at the moment. Besides, she really wanted to see Matt, the poor guy had gone through so much lately at her expense, and there he was, in the hospital because of her.

"Damon, I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh, come on," he said, draping an arm around her as he led her to the door, "what's the worst that can happen?"

* * *

Author's Note: Well, if that isn't the most obvious foreshadowing ever. What evil do you think lurks within the shadows of this story? Chapter 5 is coming soon!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries and I do not profit from writing these stories.

Author's Note: This chapter is almost twice as long as some of the others, so sorry about the wait, but it's here now! This chapter is mainly to get all the storylines organized, which is going to be chaotic. I mean, did you _see_ that finale?

* * *

"You just had to say it didn't you?" Elena yelled an hour later. Damon had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as they made their way to his car. It was raining, he was grumpy, and Elena had blood dripping down her chin, and her vamp-face was back.

"Say what?" he growled back.

"'What's the worst that can happen?'" She imitated with a mockingly low-pitched voice, "I'm Damon Salvatore, self-proclaimed fatalist who is in fact, a giant idiot."

He looked at her and rolled his eyes, "Oh, don't be so melodramatic."

"No, I'm serious. You've seen more movies than anyone I've ever met and yet you still didn't see this coming?"

He let go of her and they piled into his car, "You're taking this remarkably well," he said softly.

"Yeah, well," her voice started cracking and a tear rolled down her cheek, "I'm still kind of in shock," she let out a sob as she buckled her seatbelt.

Damon wanted to reach over and squeeze her leg in comfort, or pull her into his chest to let her cry. Instead, he put the car in gear and he drove away from the hospital while Elena cried silently in the passenger seat.

* * *

In the cold, emotionless hospital room, the only sound inside was a persistent beeping that accompanied a small, green, moving light that kept track of the young man's heartbeat. From outside, the soft tinkle of rain against the windows gave the blonde vampire some comfort. It was such an eternal sound.

As she sat, stone-like, beside the hospital bed, Rebekah noted how such a small sound made such a difference between life and death for a human. Then again, it did for her as well, though it took a lot more to get a vampire's heart to stop beating.

She meant to kill him, she really did. She had chosen her own life and that of her family's over his. It was an impulse, she didn't know if she regretted it or not, after all, she barely knew the boy.

She was so glad she didn't kill him. He was unconscious right now and wounded, but he was alive. With her school-girl hopes, Rebekah fantasized about him waking up to greet her, forgiving her with time and then taking her on a date, her very first real date. Rationally, she knew this to be impossible since she just ran him off a bridge, but Rebekah was never known for her logical side.

"What are you doing here?"

Bonnie appeared in the doorway and spoke with a harsh, icy edge to her voice.

Rebekah stood to face her and rolled her eyes, witches were always so full of censure and blame. "I'm sitting by Matt's bedside," she drawled with her thick, Victorian accent.

"You tried to kill him," Bonnie shot back, her eyes glaring.

"Wrong," Rebekah replied, "I tried to kill Elena. He was just collateral damage."

"Get out of here," Bonnie demanded, her jaw was set, but Rebekah could see the fear in her eyes.

She knew, however, that her previous position next to Matt was not her place, so she shrugged, "It's boring in here anyway."

She made a point to stock out of the room, nudging Bonnie's shoulder a bit on her way out, heels clacking across the tile floor.

Bonnie sighed and took Rebekah's place.

* * *

Caroline was scared out of her mind. Her hair was wet from the light rain. Her face was wet as well, but she knew it was only partly because of the weather.

She felt numb. Only hours prior she had been plotting her escape with her boyfriend and feeling for the first time like a wild, daring woman who was off to go on adventures with her forbidden love.

But her life didn't work like that. No, Caroline's life was one surrounded with death, blood and a whole lot of growing up too fast. Instead of going to school, hanging out with her friends and thinking about a nice, normal future, Caroline's life involved trekking through the woods on a rainy morning to go collect her boyfriend's body.

It was a Tuesday, but Caroline didn't know that. She had long since lost track of the calendar, and made it to school almost every day only with painstaking effort in the hopes of retaining some form of normality, still trying to hold onto the dream. She had known it was kind of superficial—all the parties, dances, and fundraisers for a bunch of people who just wanted to drink away the troubles given to them by a subpar education system—but she kept trying to care about the things that mattered before. She got swept up in the spirit of senior year, and she knew why. It was because the lives of her family and friends had gone completely and totally to a fiery hell and she needed to give them something to look forward to, something to believe in, something to dream about.

Now Caroline's dreams were dead.

So, instead of being the brave little soldier she wanted to be by walking into the dungeon, she called in some emotional support. He answered on the first ring.

"Caroline?"

"Stefan?" Her voice cracked, "I need your help."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Tyler," she let out a sob, "He's dead."

"Where are you?"

Stefan leapt from Elena's bed while she and his brother worked through their issues in the bathroom. He jumped out the window and sped toward the woods, his focus torn away from the drained blood bags at his feet.

* * *

When Damon, Elena, and Bonnie piled out of the Camaro at the hospital, Damon blocked Elena's path. "And where do you think you're going?" Bonnie was making a beeline towards the hospital, suddenly looking very tense.

"Come on, Damon, I want to see Matt, and I don't want to be left alone in the car."

"Elena…" Damon shook his head doubtfully, "There's going to be a lot of blood and a lot of easy victims. Hospitals are dangerous places temptation-wise. You do not want to put yourself through that."

"Please? I'll be fine," she decided to play dirty and prepped her face for her puppy dog look, "I'll be with you."

But Damon wasn't having any of it. "I don't think so." Then he spun her around by her shoulders and pushed her into the car.

"Don't be an idiot," he commanded as he shut the door. Suddenly, he was gone.

Elena huffed and then shouted, "I've got 99 problems and blood cravings ain't one!" She checked around, Damon wasn't back. So she shrugged and got out of the car, feeling rebellious. She didn't know why she was so adamant about going to see Matt, maybe it was to prove something to herself, maybe there was a small bit of pride in his being alive because of her, or maybe it was just because she wanted to make sure that her death wasn't for nothing. Whatever the reason, Elena felt herself walking slowly towards the front doors of the too-familiar Mystic Falls General Hospital.

All at once, something made her stop in her tracks. She could feel all of her senses contract and hone in on one sound: that of a human heartbeat.

She tried not to care, she really did. She tried to keep moving forward and get to Matt, but her resolve barely lasted a millisecond before the next thing she knew, she had a brutish looking man slammed up against a tree in the woods behind the hospital with her fangs buried in his neck, his hot blood running down her throat, and absolutely no will to keep from sucking him dry.

However, Elena never compelled her lunch and the man started to scream. Soon, Elena felt hands on her shoulders and she was propelling backwards to the ground. Her head landed painlessly on the dirt with a soft thump.

Damon had arrived and was speaking to the man in hushed tones, obviously compelling him. When he was finished, the man walked off looking dazed with his hand covering his messy neck wound.

Damon was at Elena's side in an instant. She was coming down from her savage high and he prepped himself for the backlash. "Elena?" He said, "Elena. Focus." He put his arm under her back and helped her to her feet. She was silent and looked completely stunned.

She didn't talk for a few moments, but when she did it was with attitude, "You just had to say it didn't you?"

After he put the Camaro in gear, he drove to the Boarding House.

* * *

Stefan arrived at Caroline's side mere minutes after he left the Gilbert's and swept her into a hug. "What happened?" He asked.

"He…it was after Klaus died…last night. I went to go see him and he was fine…until he wasn't." Her body was wracking with sobs. "I was going to stay with him but he started turning because…because he didn't…didn't want me to watch him die."

"Oh, Caroline, I'm so sorry."

"But why didn't we die? Why are we still fine?" Caroline looked up at Stefan, "I thought that if Klaus died that meant…"

He shook his head, "I don't know. He lied. Klaus lied. We're going to be fine."

Caroline broke down into sobs, "Nothing is fine, Stefan! _Nothing_ is fine!"

This time, when Caroline fell into Stefan's chest, he didn't say anything, just stroked her hair while she cried, as the rain fell around them and the wind rustled the leaves in the trees.

* * *

Bonnie reached over and took Matt's hand. "Hey, Matt," she whispered, "you don't have to wake up just yet, it's okay. You're probably safer here anyway. A lot of things have gone wrong."

She paused and took a deep breath, "Alaric is officially dead, we don't have to worry about him anymore, so that's good. But Matt, he's only dead because Elena…" she paused again, "because Elena d-d-died and became a vampire," she stuttered, "and everyone thinks that Klaus is dead, but Matt," she whispered again, "he's not."

She knew he couldn't hear her and that's why she said it. Bonnie didn't even know where to go from here. She remembered her conversation with Klaus in the dungeon.

"The spirits won't be happy with you," he had said.

"The spirits don't get to tell me what to do anymore," she shot back, "I'm done getting pushed around by all of you. I did it because _I_ wanted to."

She meant what she said, she couldn't blindly follow the wishes of the spirits any longer. Bonnie's unflinching morality and loyalty had flipped. She drew her power from a source that only saw vampires as unnatural, and would not make an exception. But Bonnie would no longer be a tool for murder, even for monsters whose very existence was wrong. Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Tyler, and Elena didn't choose what they became, like everybody else, they only had the cards they'd been dealt and did the best they could.

They didn't deserve shame, and they didn't deserve death.

She didn't know why she didn't just tell Damon and Elena about Klaus in Tyler's body. All she knew was that when she last saw Klaus, he swore that he would return to his own body as long as she didn't tell anyone that he was in Tyler's body, not just yet anyway.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, only to jump up at a small sound. "Bonnie?"

"Matt!" She smiled softly, "Welcome back!"

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital," she said, putting her hand back in his, "You were in an accident."

Matt looked at his surroundings frantically, "Elena. The bridge. Oh my God, Bonnie, I drowned! Rebekah tried to kill me!" He tried to sit up, but Bonnie put her hands on his chest.

"I know just calm down, everything is okay. Matt, breathe."

He looked up at her and did as he was told.

"I'm going to go get a nurse, okay?" She stood and turned to go.

"Wait!"

Bonnie looked back, "Yeah?"

"How is Elena?"

Bonnie took a deep breath and sat on the bed facing him. Taking his hand in hers she began, "I am only the one to tell you this because I happened to be here when you woke up," she stopped talking, nervous about his state of health.

"Bonnie…" he said warningly.

"Elena turned. She's a vampire."

Matt was stunned, he was not ready for that turn of events, "But…what? She didn't make it out?"

"No, she didn't she drowned. But she had vampire blood in her system."

Matt's eyes widened, "Then how am I alive? Bonnie, don't tell me…"

"No, you're not in transition," she confirmed, "Stefan saved you because Elena wouldn't let him save her until he got you out."

Matt was speechless, and he slumped back into bed to process the information. Bonnie gave his hand a tight squeeze before she stood up to get a nurse.

* * *

Damon handed Elena one of his prized (and highly replaceable) crystal glasses filled with microwaved blood. She accepted it tentatively from her place on the couch, and got a little tingle when their fingers touched.

"Should I be drinking this much blood?" She asked, "Shouldn't I be learning to control it?"

Damon nodded, "You are. Your body has to be trained to know that blood will always be on the way. Otherwise, it will panic and drive you to feed and overindulge," he explained, "It's natural for a newborn to drink a lot for a few days. Your body is panicking right now, it wants you to feed and build up strength, so listen to it or it will turn against you, and you'll lose control."

Elena nodded and took a sip of the blood calmly, she could feel her fangs burning in her gums, aching to extract themselves, but she fought for restraint. "That makes sense," she conceded, breathing a sigh of relief when her face stayed ordinary.

Elena was still doubtful though, after today at the hospital, she didn't want to hurt anybody else. She was full of guilt, and it was taking over. When her thoughts drifted to abstaining from human blood, she found herself downing the remnants of her glass in one, big, desperate gulp.

Damon handed her another glass, "See?" He said, "There's always more."

Elena nodded and gave Damon the empty glass to be refilled.

They both turned when the door opened and Stefan walked in.

"Stefan!" Elena jumped up, immediately overcome with relief and some serious jitters in her stomach, "Where were you?"

The couple pulled each other in for a hug, and Damon looked away, keeping a steely straight face.

They pulled away from each other and Stefan said, "Caroline called me this morning while you were in the bathroom."

"About Tyler," Elena stated.

Stefan nodded solemnly. "She was getting the body out of the tomb, but she didn't want to do it alone."

"Is she okay?"

Stefan was about to respond when Damon interrupted, "Wait a second, what body?"

Elena turned to him, "Tyler's dead, Damon."

Damon's jaw clenched and he gripped his own glass tightly, "Damn," he grumbled, "How is she?"

Stefan replied, looking at Elena, "Well, right now, she's confused. When we went to the tomb to get him. Well, his body was gone."

Damon had figured Tyler was probably dead, but he forgot about it when he survived Klaus's staking. Now the body was missing, which meant that there was probably something all evil and supernatural going on which means they would probably need their witch soon.

Damon groaned, "I gotta go," he declared to Stefan and Elena who were still doing their whole teen angst thing, "I forgot I left Bonnie at the hospital."

Stefan raised his eyebrows, "You forgot Bonnie?" His voice was accusing.

"Reel it back in, brother," Damon quipped as he put on his leather jacket and grabbed his keys, "I was a little preoccupied with Lindsay Lohan over here."

Elena separated herself from Stefan, "Oh come on!" She whined, "You just told me…"

"I know, I'm just kidding," Damon rolled his eyes as he opened the big, wooden door, "You're doing great." He looked back up to Stefan, "Later," he said, throwing a wink in Elena's direction.

When the door shut behind him, Elena turned to Stefan, "Where _is_ Caroline?"

"She went home. Mrs. Lockwood is hiding out there for the time being," he said, crossing his arms, "Before Tyler died, he told her to tell his mother that he left town like he was supposed to."

"Supposed to? Where was he going?" She asked.

Stefan rubbed his neck, "Apparently, the Sheriff and Mrs. Lockwood asked Caroline and Tyler to run away," he said, "They were planning on leaving last night after we dealt with Alaric."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows, "Why would they want Tyler and Caroline to leave?"

"Alaric outed us all to the Council. They were trying to protect their children."

"Wow," Elena sighed, "We get rid of the original problem and immediately, we're faced with another."

Stefan sighed. Elena smirked.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked, puzzled.

Elena let out a loud and abrupt laugh. "The _Original_ problem! Get it?" Elena chuckled nervously before pausing to collect herself, and then suddenly, she fell into a fit of laughter.

"Elena?" Stefan was hesitant about how to react, he had never seen her like this before.

Elena could hardly contain herself and was now doubled over, clutching her knees. Loud and strangled guffaws were escaping her lungs and tears were streaming down her face.

"Oh wow," she said when she righted herself, "That really wasn't that funny, I don't know what just came over me. I'm sorry." She laughed once more and cleared her throat, trying to sober up.

When she caught sight of Stefan's concerned expression, she straightened herself and let out a deep breath.

"…Elena?" Stefan said hesitantly, reaching out to her without touching her.

She sighed, "We should probably talk, shouldn't we?"

He dropped his hands to his side and attempted a small smile that he hoped was reassuring, "Yeah, we probably should."

As they walked into the parlor, Stefan was suddenly overcome with the first bout of real doubt he ever had about him and Elena and he was struck, for the first time, with almost certainty that Elena wasn't going to choose him. So he prepped himself for a rejection.

Elena sat back on the couch with one leg bent underneath her. Stefan followed suit and sat close enough that their knees were touching.

"So, what's on your mind?" He asked, feigning casual conversation.

"I made my decision when it comes to you and me," she stated simply, gesturing between them.

Stefan braced himself, "Yeah? And?"

"And," she breathed in, "I want to give us another shot."

Stefan looked up, surprised, "Really?"

She smiled warmly at him, "Yes, really. You were practically ripped from my grasp six months ago and we never got to finish what we started," she took a deep breath and looked into his glistening green eyes, "I love you, Stefan, I never stopped."

Stefan's face broke out into a grin and he quickly pulled her towards him, "I love you, too."

Stefan and Elena kissed deeply as he held her on the couch. He was flooded with relief and happiness, but something in the back of his mind was nagging at him. She hadn't even mentioned Damon, but he tried not to think about it as his arm reached around to pull his girlfriend onto his lap.

* * *

Author's Note: Wowie wow wow. This chapter was a doozie. Sorry it took me so long, but it took me a really long time to get a grip on all of the story lines they left us with at the end of Season 3. Also, I'm really sorry about the stupid Stelena, but you knew it was coming. Believe me, I hated writing it even more than you hated reading it. Also, what is your opinion of my interpretation of the whole Tyler!Klaus/Bonnie situation, it took me forever to wrap my head around it.

Anyway, let me know what you think and feel free to point out any discontinuities or concerns! :) I am all for constructive criticism!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: I apologize in advance for the Stelena that's going to be in the next few chapters. Don't worry, though, I haven't forgotten about Damon! (How could I ever?)

* * *

Elena was straddling Stefan on the couch. It had been so long since she had been in his arms, in anyone's arms for that matter, and she relished in the contact.

She found herself desperate for the warm arms around her, and the hot tongue moving in and out of her mouth. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and a different, more conventional aching hunger was building up inside of her rapidly.

Their kisses were familiar and practiced, and the couple found their usual rhythm quickly. Elena thought it strange since so much had changed since the last time they did this. However, her reservations were clouded as Stefan's strong arms pulled her in more tightly. He didn't have to be gentle anymore, she could handle it now.

He pulled apart from her face and looked at her with lidded eyes. Here eyes were open wide, sparkling as she looked down at her partner.

"You know," he said huskily, "Damon isn't here. We've got this place all to ourselves." He brushes some hair away from her face with one hand. His other was stroking her thigh roughly, his fingers lingering on the waistline of her jeans. He was excited, he missed her after being apart so long, and he was anxious to make her his again.

At the mention of Damon's name and Stefan's insinuation of what their little make out session was headed to, Elena crashed quickly from her high. She let her arms fall from around Stefan's neck and she bit her lip, nervous about his reaction to what she was about to say.

"I can't, Stefan," she sighed, "I'm not ready."

Stefan tensed, his insecurities getting the better of him, "Is this because of Damon?"

Elena's eyes flashed with anger, "No, this isn't about Damon, this is about me."

He saw his misstep and his shoulders drooped in shame. "Okay," he said, trying to understand, "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Elena rolled her eyes, "I'm a vampire, Stefan. That means my emotions are heightened. That means my libido is kicking in faster than usual, that means I'm more attracted to you than usual, that means that I will be more sad than usual about Tyler and Ric and about how I can't ever have children and how I'm going to look eighteen for the rest of eternity while Jeremy grows old, gets married, has kids, then grandkids and I won't be allowed to be around him when all of that happens. That means that I can't sleep with you right now because I don't know if it's for the right reasons and I really really don't know if I'm going to be able to handle those emotions right now. That means that, yeah, I'm going to be confused a lot and some of it might be because of Damon!"

She took a deep breath at the end of her speech, and fell silent, anticipating Stefan's reaction.

"Okay," he sighed, "No sex."

"Okay," she said, and moved from his lap. They both turned to sit facing forward on the couch. He put his arm around her, but she didn't snuggle into his side for a few moments.

* * *

Caroline was a mess. When she tried to go home to deliver the fake news to Mrs. Lockwood and her mom, she was met with an angry horde of Council members.

There weren't many of them left since the Gilberts, Forbses, Lockwoods, and Salvatores were no longer a part of it. Still, though, the Fells and Walterses remained, and they were the biggest of the Council families.

As soon as she got within two hundred feet of her house, a gunshot rang out, and a huge wooden bullet ended up lodged in her thigh. She cried out in agony and sped away as quickly as her injured legs could carry her.

Almost as soon as she found safety in a random patch of woods outside of her neighborhood, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. The caller ID indicated it was Damon.

"Damon?"

"I'm on my way to pick up Bonnie from the hospital. We need to figure out this Tyler situation before it gets too out of hand. Should I come get you, or do you want to meet me?"

Caroline's voice was tinged with pain, she was sitting on the wet ground leaning against a small tree, "There's no time to worry about Tyler," she moaned, "We've got bigger problems."

Damon recognized Caroline's pain almost immediately and growled, "What happened?"

"Council members were staking out my house. One of them shot me. Wooden bullet in the leg. I'm trying to hide right now, but I'm not far from my house," she reported her condition methodically, disturbed by how commonplace the battlefield mentality had become.

"We need to get it out of your leg. I'll be there soon. Just stay put. I'll find you."

"Okay," she said, and they both hung up.

Damon, neglecting to look both ways, took a sharp and very illegal U-turn in his Camaro. After driving about five minutes, he parked a couple of blocks away from Caroline's house and stopped to catch her scent.

It was easy to recognize her strong lilac and sunshine scent, since it was stronger from what he expected was the blood pooling out of her leg right about now. He tensed his shoulders and sped toward the woods, satisfying his urge to knock over a couple of Council members on his way.

When he reached Caroline, she didn't look too good. Her face paled and she had a kind of dead look in her eyes when she looked up at him. He leaned next to her and said, "Come on Caroline, you've been through worse than this."

Caroline nodded, and a single tear escaped from the side of her eye, "Yeah, physically, maybe."

"I'm sorry about Tyler," Damon said, remembering what she just went through the night before.

"Like you ever cared if he lived or died," she shot back, her eyes suddenly alive with anger. Damon was about to protest, when Caroline silenced him with, "Just get this thing out of my leg so we can go kick some Council ass."

Damon nodded. He didn't warn her it was going to hurt, or tell her to brace herself. Instead, he took a deep breath, stroked her thigh around the affected area and then dug his fingers into her leg.

Caroline's fingers dug into the ground and let out a loud, "Gahhhhhhh," and tears streamed down her face.

Damon got the bullet out as quickly as possible, hoping against hope there were no splinters left behind. Caroline was left gasping against the tree. Damon reached into his pocket and got out the blood bag he brought for her. She downed it quickly, her wound healed, indicating the absence of excess wood, and Caroline jumped up from her position on the ground.

"Let's go," she growled, her grief had become anger and she was ready for vengeance.

"Whoa, hold on," Damon said, going to stand in front of her. "We are not about to go storming some random Council Members right now, I don't care how much you're PMSing."

Caroline glared at her sire, "They have my mother," she growled.

"We don't know that," he responded, "and right now we have bigger issues to tend to. You can call your mom when we're on the road."

Caroline suddenly recalled reality, "Alaric," she hissed.

"Alaric is dead, Caroline," Damon articulated, "He is no longer a threat."

"Alaric's dead?" Caroline cried, "That means Elena…"

"Is a vampire," he finished for her, "she turned this morning."

Caroline freaked out, "And I'm just finding out about this now?" She shrieked, "Where is she?"

"At the Boarding House," he answered, "with Stefan." Caroline rolled her eyes at the jealous tone in his voice when he said his brother's name.

Caroline's focus had shifted, "Let's go, then," she ordered, and she sped her way to his car.

When they got back to the car, Damon admitted, "I'm not too keen on interrupting Elena and my brother right now."

Caroline scoffed, "She's not going to sleep with Stefan," she allowed.

"And why is that?" He drawled, starting up the car.

"Because while Elena might be extra horny now, she's also extra confused, extra scared," Caroline shrugged, "and probably extra in love with you."

"Don't start," he said, quickly stamping out the little bit of hope Caroline was trying to plant in him.

"Bonnie's still at the hospital," he fumed at himself.

"Bonnie's at the hospital?" Caroline groaned. Apparently, she had missed out on a lot.

* * *

Stefan and Elena were still sitting in silence on the couch until Elena spoke up, "Now that we're back together, we should probably get on with that talking thing."

Stefan chuckled, "We didn't really get that far before, did we?"

Elena blushed, "No, we didn't."

"Okay," Stefan said, releasing her shoulders, then turning around to face her, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well," she started, "I guess since it's probably the biggest elephant in the room, we could talk about what happened in Denver."

Stefan shook his head, "I told you, I don't need to know," he gripped her shoulder, "We're together now, that's all that matters."

"I said I wanted to give us another shot," Elena said, getting frustrated, "That means we need to talk about all the things that could get in the way."

"Okay," Stefan agreed, "Then we'll talk about my blood addiction, or Katherine, or Klaus, or even the time I almost drove you off Wickery Bridge."

Elena winced at the memory, but she nodded in acceptance.

"We could also talk about you being a vampire and what that's doing to you," Stefan added.

Elena's heart ached at the reminder, "I didn't want this," she started, "you know I didn't."

Stefan shook his head, "Neither did I."

"Everything I'm feeling is taking over and I can't think straight," she struggled, "and my emotions keep shifting. Disappearing even faster than they came. But I… the hunger…it never goes away. I can't deal with the blood cravings. It's taking everything within me not to tear apart your refrigerator right now."

Stefan sighed, and then reached beside him and picked up Damon's abandon glass of blood and handed it to her, "Then let me help you."

Elena smiled nervously and Stefan bent down to seal it with a soft kiss.

They broke apart at the sound of the door opening and Caroline and Damon walked in. Elena jumped up from the couch, "Caroline!" She exclaimed, placing the glass back on the table. The girls flew to each other, landing in an anxious embrace.

Caroline didn't let go when she breathed into Elena's shoulder, "Damon told me about the bridge and the transformation. Oh, Elena, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"I am now," Elena smiled into her friend's curly hair, thankful she didn't smell like food, and wasn't seeking out a piece of her heart, or looking for judgment. Caroline simply was there, with her big heart and warm hugs, and Elena gripped her more tightly. "I'm so sorry about Tyler."

Caroline sniffed when she felt her friend's sympathy seeping into their hug, and she responded in kind, cradling her like they do. "Elena Gilbert, doppelganger, former cheerleader, savior of us all, and now a kick-ass vampire," Caroline giggled and the girl's separated, "Things could be worse."

"I'm thinking about making that my life's motto," Elena groaned, her arm still wrapped around Caroline's side, "Things could _always_ be worse."

"My, my," Damon said sarcastically from the sidelines, "Aren't we the optimist?"

"Well, I have died twice since I've known you. Just for the record," Elena replied.

Damon feigned thoughtfulness before conceding, "Good point. Let's not make it a third, okay?"

"We live in Mystic Falls, Damon," Elena replied, "No promises."

Caroline looked from Damon to Elena and saw that their eyes were boring into each others and an awkward silence was settling over the room. She could also see Stefan tensing at the pair's silent exchange, so she decided to break it.

"So," Caroline announced, "I think this is the prime time for girl talk. Am I right, Elena?"

Elena broke her eye contact with Damon, "Oh, I don't know, Caroline, what with all of the super-hearing in this room."

"That's okay," Caroline brightened, "We can go to your house."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea right now, Caroline," Damon reminded her.

"Oh yeah…" her eyes widened, remembering the Council.

"Why not?" Stefan asked.

"Council members were staking out Caroline's place. They got her with a wooden bullet when she went to see her mom and Mrs. Lockwood. I called her when I was on my way to get Bonnie. Turned out she had bigger problems."

"So," concluded Stefan, "the Council is cracking down on us involved. That means they know about us, the Forbses, the Lockwoods, and the Gilberts, possibly the Bennetts."

"Oh my God, Jeremy's at the Grill!"

"I'll go check on him," Damon volunteered, anxious to feel useful.

"I'll get Bonnie," Stefan said, looking pointedly at his brother.

"She wanted to stay with Matt a little longer, but go ahead," Damon shrugged, making a point that he still hadn't forgotten about her.

"And Elena and I will take care of each other!" Caroline declared.

"And have your 'girl talk'" Damon make quotation marks with his fingers and waggled his eyebrows, "My room is completely available," he contemplated his position a bit longer, "But only if Blondie stays away from the good scotch."

"Don't count on it!" She called after Damon as he and Stefan left the house, both taking one last look at Elena before bowing out.

"So," Caroline started, "Shall we take up Damon's offer on the scotch?"

Elena looked doubtful, she would much prefer blood.

"It'll help you curb your cravings," Caroline sing-songed.

Elena sighed, "Okay, but let me finish that glass first?"

Caroline shrugged and made her way over to the bar while Elena downed the remaining contents of blood. "Ah," she sighed dramatically and Caroline giggled as she poured a helping of scotch out of Damon's crystal tumbler into a glass, then walked over and re-filled Elena's, who immediately took a large swig of the scalding liquid.

"Stefan and I are back together!" Elena blurted.

Caroline paused with the tumbler frozen in midair. "Wow," she said.

"Yeah," Elena took another gulp and Caroline moved to refill her glass.

"I mean, I knew we interrupted you two getting close, but I didn't realize you had made a decision."

"Technically, I did," Elena sighed, leaning back in the couch, "Right before the accident, I called Damon and I told him I'm still in love with Stefan and that I needed to let him go. Stefan and I have been back together for about half-an-hour now."

"Technically?" Caroline said hesitantly as she sat next to Elena, placing the pitcher on the table next to her.

"Why aren't you happier about this?" Elena questioned, "Aren't you the one who said, 'Stefan is your epic love.'"

"Well, yeah," Caroline started, "But I don't want you to get back together with him if you're not sure about it!"

"Last night, I was sure about it," Elena explained.

"Well, a lot's changed since then."

"Tell me about it," Elena moaned, then remembered her insensitivity, "Oh, Caroline, I'm so sorry. Here I am complaining about my love triangle issues when Tyler…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say and pulled Caroline back in for another hug.

Caroline reciprocated and began to get choked up again, "It's okay," she cried, "I knew it was a possibility. It just…even knowing it was coming…doesn't make it any easier."

"I know," Elena's eyes began to well up, "I miss him, too."

The girls held each other as they both cried. For Caroline, her world stopped, and she didn't understand how things around her just kept moving. There were new battles to be fought, new evils to be afraid of, friends who needed her, and even the sky started to clear and the birds were coming out. But she couldn't find a point in any of it. She was in complete and utter shock.

Tyler was dead and he wasn't coming back.

As the reality of it set in, Caroline's sobs became louder and were filled with despair. And Elena held on to her tighter, stroking her hair.

"He's gone," she bawled, "He's really gone."

Elena settled herself to comfort her friend for as long as was necessary, but they were jolted apart by a loud knock at the door.

Caroline coughed and a puzzled look came over her face. She wiped at her eyes, "I'll get it," she said, determined to find a distraction.

Elena followed her to the door.

When Caroline opened it to reveal two wide, black eyes, both girls gasped.

"Tyler?"


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I absolutely loved writing this chapter. I've gotten a lot of my planned plot points out of the way and now we can concentrate on our favorite couple! Enjoy!

* * *

Elena and Caroline were frozen at the door. Tyler had returned.

Caroline didn't know how to react. No discernable emotions were going through her. He couldn't be real. She was dreaming. This was all part of some weird dream.

His voice made her snap out of it. "Caroline?" His eyes looked at her, pleading.

"Oh my God! Tyler!" She cried and threw herself into his arms.

He caught her, let out an "Oomf," and twirled her around. "I am so sorry I scared you like that," he said, then put her down to look at her.

"How are you even alive?" Caroline asked, putting her hands on either side of his face.

"I…I don't know," he replied, "I was in a lot of pain, like you saw," Caroline nodded, "and then when I started transitioning and you left…I couldn't stop."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't control the transition anymore," he said. "I think the vampire part of me died."

Caroline looked confused, "So, now you're just back to being a werewolf?"

He shrugged, his hands still sitting on her waist, "It looks that way," he replied.

Caroline smiled and Tyler's hand came up to stroke her hair, "Do you think a little thing like Death could keep me away from you?" He smiled at her, "You're the light of my life. All I need to live… is you."

Caroline laughed a teary laugh, "Oh, Tyler," she said, "that was really cheesy." Then she threw her arms back around him and kissed him like he had returned from the dead.

Elena was smiling from the sidelines, but when it was clear they weren't about to unglue their lips for a while, she cleared her throat. "I'm just gonna…go upstairs," she said before backing away.

She grabbed the bottle of scotch, went to the kitchen for a couple of blood bags, then made her way up the hidden staircase next to the pantry.

She went about a routine she developed over the summer when she went to Damon's room and set her beverages on his bedside table. She took one of the blood bags and started sucking on it moderately as she walked across the hall and up the stairs to Stefan's attic bedroom.

She opened a couple of drawers, got out a change of underwear, a bra, a white cami, her brown v-neck sweater, and a pair of jeans. When she left the room with her supplies, she moved to the linen closet and pulled out a towel.

When she returned to Damon's room, she went directly to his bathroom. She threw the blood bag in the trash, put her clothes on the counter, and dropped her towel on the floor. It occurred to her that she could probably just take a shower in Stefan's room, but he didn't have the big tub which she moved over to, plugged the drain and turned on the hot water.

She watched it fill for a while as she sucked down the second blood bag. She found that she could stop and enjoy it like she had watched Damon do with his crystal glasses. She drank it like it was a nice, afternoon treat.

Not only that, but she could tell that this bag tasted quite a bit different than the one before. She couldn't really put her finger on why, but she expected that only feeding from the source would give her that answer.

Both varieties of blood, however, gave her everything she was craving, and she wasn't about to decide which type she liked more, as she had heard Caroline and Damon debate on occasion.

She finished her snack, threw the packaging in the trash, and then turned to face the giant mirror. She was still wearing the clothes she drowned in, awoken in, and transitioned in, and she was ready to take it off and never put it back on. So she stripped down to her bra and panties, her clothes following the blood bags into the trash can.

She retrieved the pink toothbrush Damon insisted on keeping for her and his spearmint toothpaste and started scrubbing her mouth. When she spit into the sink, the blood mixed with the white foam before disappearing down the drain. She giggled to herself and let her fangs out. Then, she gave them a little attention as well.

That was the first time she let her veins show on command and she was proud of herself. She wanted to accept them as a part of herself, just like Damon had, like she always wished Stefan did. She thought they were beautiful even with their monster face, so why not her?

She stared at herself longer. _Because all I see is Katherine_, she thought to herself. Hell, she was half-naked in Damon's bathroom while she was supposed to be dating Stefan. They had just gotten together an hour ago and already, she could feel Damon slipping through her fingers. Wasn't that the point? To let him go? If it was, then why was she so insistent on being in his room, where his aftershave was sitting on the counter and the sheets smelled like him?

She knew why, she wasn't completely stupid. She missed him and the way he made her uncomfortable and wild, but yet she could put all of her faith in him.

The tub was filling up, so Elena dumped in some bubble bath and moved to put the scotch and the glass on the little table next to the tub. She could practically picture him sitting there, pulling out the champagne for a romantic night with Andie or Rose or Rebekah. She could easily drive herself crazy with the images. In fact, she already had.

She slid of her panties, unhooked her bra and slowly dipped a toe, then a foot into the scalding hot water. She was ready for the burning sensation, but it never came. Her skin was thicker now and while she could feel the heat even more acutely, it didn't burn, merely soothed.

She slid her whole body in the tub and found there was more than enough room. She could practically swim in it if she felt like it. Damon was a minimalist, but he obviously spared no expense on the few things he did buy. She leaned back in the tub and let go of the control she had been fighting to keep all day.

She breathed in deeply, closed her eyes, and was able to smell every scent in the room. There was scotch, wood, the bubble bath, Damon's twenty leather jackets, and plethora of soaps, spicy man products, old books, and the fresh air coming through the window. It was all so sharp, but smelled so good. It was like there was more of the world and she could feel all of it.

She could hear all of it too.

Moans were coming from downstairs as Tyler and Caroline's make out session became more intense.

So, she slid under the water to avoid the conflicting reactions that could come from eavesdropping, and so as not to invade their privacy. When she was fully immersed, she opened her eyes. She was shrouded in complete silence, it was peaceful under the hot water, the only sounds were the ones that came when she moved her arms and the water rippled. She wasn't breathing, but there was no pressure on her lungs pushing her to come up gasping for air. There was no feeling to make her panic, and the water was warm, unlike the last time she found herself submerged.

Elena thought she wouldn't mind sleeping like that, lying in a watery casket while the world went on around her, forgetting her, not being able to touch her.

Funny, since that's pretty much exactly how she died.

Elena realized how depressing her thoughts had become, but she figured she was entitled to a little depression after everything. She was certainly entitled to the vintage scotch which she braved the outside world to retrieve.

Elena poured herself another glass and let her fangs retract. She sipped on the amber liquid. She was beginning to like this coping mechanism. The alcohol making her brain fuzzy combined with the steam from the tub had her relaxed in record time. She could reel her senses back in and avoid listening to the happy couple downstairs. For the first time that day, Elena was alone and she wasn't freaking out.

She lifted up her hand to stare at her sud-covered daylight ring. It really was pretty, and so delicate in comparison to those of the Salvatore's or Caroline's. She didn't know exactly where it came from, but she doubted Bonnie picked it out. Where did Damon get something like it? The craftsmanship seemed so original, and done with so much care.

Her hearing perked up when the front door opened downstairs, Damon was home. She debated staying in or getting out for a quick getting dressed. He wouldn't be able to see anything under the bubbles, but she thought he would want his room, and she didn't want to torture him with her naked body. She had been cruel enough, after all.

So, she stood and quickly dried off her body, wrapped her hair in the towel and got dressed, she left her discarded bra and panties in the trash can along with the rest of her clothes. By the time Damon got to his room, she was fully dressed and had just pulled the plug in the tub.

"Hey," he said when he saw her.

"Hi," she replied, "Sorry, I just had to wash off all the…you know."

He nodded, "It's been a long day."

"Tell me about it," she rolled her eyes, then bent over to dry off her hair with the towel, "So, how's Jeremy?"

"Uh, he's fine," Damon said, trying to fight off the image of Elena in his tub all sudsy and naked, "No word from the Council. He's going to stay at work. With Matt in the hospital, he had to work the double shift."

Elena stood up, flipping her hair back, "That's good," she looked at him, trying to keep the casual tone and ignore the fact that she was just in his room, naked, surrounded by things that smelled like him. "I also drank about half of the bottle," she said, gesturing to the tumbler of scotch.

"Like I'm going to complain about a naked, drunk Elena in my room," he stated, and before the silence got awkward he added, "And since when is Tyler Lockwood alive? I just kicked the happy couple out. I do not need interspecies sex residue on my antique couch."

Elena laughed, "I have no idea. He just showed up. Apparently, being a hybrid is a big loophole in the whole Bloodline Death rule."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

Damon mulled it over, noting that it should be inspected in case of any other problematic loopholes that might arise. "I think you and Jeremy should move in," Damon suddenly declared. He had been thinking about it for a while, but he never voiced the opinion until now.

Elena also had something to confess, "I'm back with Stefan."

Damon sighed, "I figured as much when I walked in earlier."

"I'm sorry," she started.

"Move in," he shot back.

"Okay."

They stood there for a few beats, looking at each other, and the silence was maddening for Elena. Why hadn't he reacted more strongly? Damon was never one to avoid a touchy subject, denial was supposed to be her circus act.

"Damon…" she began.

"Elena," he didn't want to hear her explanations, he had enough that morning, "I knew it was coming," he started walking towards her, "you need to see where this relationship with my brother is headed, I get it."

Elena watched Damon move closer, and he, unsurprisingly, ended up intruding her personal bubble. She didn't back away.

They locked eyes, "But I'm not going anywhere," he warned, "While you work out all of your issues with the Prodigal Son, I will be right here."

"Because we're friends?" She asked, knowing it was a cheap shot.

Damon barely winced, "Because I love you," he shot back, he wasn't going to let her ignore it anymore, he cupped her face with his rough hands, "and because now we have eternity."

He dropped his hands and turned around. Elena was left to absorb the weight of what he just said. Her plan was to let him go so they could both move on and she could work on her relationship with Stefan. Now, he was declaring that he wasn't going to move on, that he would wait for her.

She spoke up with some difficulty since her mouth had gone completely dry while she listened to his speech. "So, what happens now?" She asked.

"Right now, we have to get you through these beginning stages of vampirism alive, we have to deal with this new Council issue, and," he turned around and smirked, "we have to get you moved in."

* * *

Stefan returned later that night after dropping Bonnie at her house. His mind was preoccupied with reservations about the Council, they had begun their retaliation and they started with Meredith.

On their way out of the hospital, they bumped into her and she told them that she was confronted by her aunt, a member of the hospital board and long-time Council member, and was swiftly fired on the spot, with the promise that she would never work in medicine again.

After he dropped his keys in the dish by the door, he sped up the stairs to his room looking for Elena. She wasn't there. So he went down the hall to look for Damon, he was missing too.

"They're not here," he heard Jeremy call from a room off to the side.

He walked to the room and stopped at the doorframe when he saw Jeremy hanging a poster on the wall.

Stefan cocked his head to the side, "What are you doing?"

Jeremy adjusted the frame, making sure it was level and said, "Damon asked us to move in, so apparently, we're moving in."

"Huh," Stefan replied, "the house where any vampire can enter?"

"Damon said that it was safer here, the Council's made up of humans. Strength in numbers and all that," Jeremy added, "But Elena did suggest that the deed go in my name, just in case."

Stefan had to admit, it was a good idea. Jeremy insisted on keeping the ring, so he couldn't die like Elena had, and this way, nobody had to patrol the Gilbert house.

"Where's Elena staying?" Stefan asked, hoping he knew the answer.

Jeremy shrugged, "She said she would probably stay in your room most nights, but she has her own room next door," Jeremy pointed.

"Well," he said, a rush of relief going through him, "as you were."

Jeremy flopped onto his new oak bed and rolled his eyes. Living with this love triangle was going to be a pain in the ass.

* * *

"So, where are we going this time?" Elena asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively from the passenger seat.

"We, my fair maiden, are off hunting," Damon declared.

"What?" Elena's voice was threatening.

"I'm not going to let you kill anybody and we're leaving Mystic Falls," he assured. "Stefan offered to teach you how to feed from animals, right?"

Elena nodded, looking guilty.

"Well, I'm going to teach you how to hunt humans…without ripping them to shreds," Damon sighed, "a skill-set my brother does not possess." Elena flinched, and Damon continued, "Besides, you need to figure out what kind of vampire you want to be."

Elena didn't say anything, but she didn't protest either. Instead, she reached up to unsnap the hood from the windshield.

"Be gentle with that," Damon cautioned.

So Elena unbuckled her seatbelt, turned around and leaned over her seat to put the hood down, giving Damon a very pleasant visual. She had dressed up for their night out and was wearing a black miniskirt.

She knew he was checking her out, but she didn't say anything and she settled into her seat next to Damon as he shifted into fourth, the wind blowing her hair behind her.

* * *

"One, two, three!" Elena yelled before downing a tequila shot and slamming it down on the table.

Damon chuckled and followed suit. They were in a highway-side bar a few miles out of town, and Elena had decided she would need some liquid courage, which she also hoped would keep her cravings under control.

Between mentally preparing herself for the blood temptations, the scotch she had been drinking an hour earlier, and Damon at her side, Elena was able to enter the bar without betraying her vampirism and could, after a beer and a shot or two, start to enjoy herself.

Damon was watching her intensely. He looked more cautious and protective than usual, but was mainly just looking at her the way he always looked at her, with awe, a little amusement, and love. Always love.

Elena both adored and hated when he looked at her like that. For starters, she couldn't help but reciprocate his gaze, though she could never hold the eye contact for very long and her eyes often drifted to other places on his face. Secondly, it made her whole body tingle and her mind fuzzy. She always had trouble remembering the outside world when he looked at her like that, and it happened all the time, always going the same way. First, they would be teasing each other, talking normally, and then all of a sudden they would slip into a staring contest. His eyes would never leave hers, while hers wandered to his lips or his chest.

Then, every time she swore he was about to lean in and finally kiss her, he always said something that made her heart stop.

She knew why, she was done ignoring it. She loved him, that was plain as day, but she had chosen Stefan and let Damon go. It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? She wasn't like Katherine, she made a choice and she was going to stick to it.

Then, Damon refused to leave her. He was staying. He wasn't giving up. How could she possibly let him go now? Her heart ached every time she thought about him leaving. What did letting him go even mean?

This time, she broke the silence, "So, now what?" She asked, jumping up from her bar stool, her voice rising above the loud music, chit-chat and billiard clanging.

"Now," Damon declared, gesturing to the room, "you take your pick!"

Elena was suddenly very nervous, "How do I know how to decide?" She asked, perusing the crowd of beefy bikers, beach-blonde bar rats, road-trippers, bartenders, and sad-sack business men.

Damon shrugged, "Well, I'm the kind of guy who likes to play with his food."

Elena rolled her eyes, "Damon…"

"Look, Elena. That's just me," he gave her a break-down, "I like having a little bit of fun with whoever I'm drinking from. I usually hit on her first, you know, get her little heart all a flutter. When I compel her, I take away her fear. Between that and the flirting, she's usually quite willing, and quite satisfied with the whole experience."

"Isn't that kind of…" Elena tried to find the right word, "kinky?"

Damon guffawed, "Well, when you put it like that…"

"I just think the whole concept is strange. When you're a human, everything has its place. You know, food is food, and…sex is sex."

"Now, Elena," he teased, rising to stand behind her, "we both know that's not true."

His voice deepened and Elena tingled when she felt his fingertips grazing her hips. As his breath brushed her ear, the whole room seemed to fall silent around them. "When you're a vampire," he murmured, "humans can be your allies, acquaintances, and even your friends," his hands gripped more firmly on her sides, "But at the end of the day, you are immortal, and their lives will pass in a mere instant."

Elena's body betrayed her and she felt herself melting, leaning backwards into his chest, her eyes widened and fixed on roaming around the room, "You are the predator," Damon continued, "and you can make this as mechanical," he turned her around to look at him, "or as pleasurable as you want."

The smirk that was plastered on his face gave her an extra push and she narrowed her eyes and challenged, "You first."

His smirk widened and he dropped his hands, breaking her trance. The room flooded back in around her and she was left breathless. "As you wish," Damon mused, and he left her side, eyeing a cute, curly-haired brunette playing darts, trying to fend off the advances of a beefy young man in a crew-cut and Kentucky basketball t-shirt.

Elena sat back down, ordered a margarita and watched Damon work from the bar.

He went with the noble savior play, knowing that Elena was watching. "Is this guy bothering you?" He drawled.

The brunette turned to look at him, Elena was not surprised when the girl was immediately captivated by the mysterious man in the leather jacket,_ she_ certainly was. The basketball fan almost instantly abandoned his efforts when Damon and the girl shared introductions. Apparently, her name was Syndey. Her blush peaked out from under her freckles when she said her name.

Elena watched as Damon charmed his prey, and soon they were playing darts together while chatting about the music from _Phantom of the Opera_. A twinge of jealousy went through her, after all, she and Damon never talked about normal things. They were always alternating between snarky banter and speeches about their feelings.

As Elena sat dwelling on how to go about this whole eating-people-thing, she hadn't noticed that the basketball fan who was hitting on Sydney had made his way over to her, "Can I get you a drink?" His voice drew her out of her concentration.

Elena looked him over. To him, it seemed the leggy brunette that was just rejected by the guy in the leather jacket was checking him out. From Elena's perspective, she was eyeing him suspiciously before getting distracted by his subtly pulsating jugular. He seemed tasty.

"Sure," she replied, looking up at him. She flipped her hair back, turning her flirt on.

He ordered her another margarita and Elena asked him where he was from, zoning out as he started off on his life story. She looked over his shoulder at Damon and his date, who couldn't keep her hands off of him.

Neither could her date apparently, whose hand was suddenly on her knee, grabbing her attention. Normally, she would have slapped it away right then and there, but this young man had the chance of ending up dead at the end of the evening, so she cut him some slack.

The thought of what she was there to do, while it made her thirsty, sickened her all the same. What was she doing? She was against this. She accepted it as part of Damon because she didn't have any claim on him, but she never wanted to be a part of it.

So, she excused herself to go to the bathroom, taking herself away from the stranger's touch. He let her go, and Elena made her way to the sign that said "Cowgirls," but right before she went inside, she stole one last glance at her date, who was slipping something into her drink.

Elena looked at herself in the mirror, and she was raging. She knew the roofie wouldn't do anything to her, except maybe give her a slight buzz, but she was furious. Who the hell did he think he was? She wanted to sock him in the jaw, maybe castrate him.

All sympathy she had for him at the beginning of their conversation vanished, and she resolved herself to seeing it through.

So, she put her hair up, washed her hands and then left the bathroom, making her way over to her victimizing victim, putting on her best "I'm on the prowl" face.

She took her drink from the bar and started downing it, the whole time moaning her feigned approval. She watched a smug smile begin to spread on her face, and her anger started boiling even hotter.

She set the glass back on the counter, "That was soooo good," she giggled and leaned forward to give him a cleavage peak.

He cleared his throat, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Elena, feeling bold, took her index finger and slid it from his nose, and down to his chest, "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Sure," he said. They stood and he wrapped his arm around her. She caught Damon's eye across the bar and they shared a speaking look. He nodded curtly, and returned to Sydney, for whom he bought another drink.

When they reached the outside and the cold night air, Elena stumbled and he thought she was beginning to be affected by the drug he slipped her. He grabbed onto her more tightly and insisted, "My car's over there," pulling her towards the back of the building.

Elena allowed him to lead her, recognizing his intent immediately. A few moments later, he slammed her up against the brick wall in the alley. "I know you want this," he hissed and he gripped her thigh with one of his hands.

Elena looked up to see Damon watching her, his anger almost matching hers. She was now completely confident in what she was about to do.

So she snapped her teeth and smiled, "Not really," she quipped then, with very little effort, had him trapped against the wall. His eyes widened when he saw the dark man behind her and suddenly felt the force of a tight slap across the face.

Elena trapped his eyes with hers and willed him to listen to her, "You think you have the right to try and take my body away from me?" She growled.

"Y-yes," her would-be attacker stuttered, compelled to tell the truth.

"Don't make a sound," she hissed, "this is really going to hurt."

She threw her head back and let her fangs descend. When she inserted them into his neck and began drinking deeply, he flailed, powerless, underneath her. Elena could taste his fear and it satisfied her immensely. After being manhandled so many times by so many high school perverts, ancient vampires and the occasional frat boy, it felt fantastic to be fighting back.

After a few seconds of blissful feeding, she felt a pair of hands on her back as Damon stated, "I think that's enough, Elena."

She took one last, lingering gulp and pulled away. Blood was dripping down her chin again, her wound had not been tidy, and she licked her lips. "Okay," she complied. She was proud of herself for being able to pull away so rationally. It seemed because her feeding had been driven by anger instead of hunger, she could control what she was doing.

Elena inspected her work, her victim lie unconscious against the wall. So she slapped him again. "Wake up," she demanded.

He came to, though barely and she grasped the lapels of his jacket. "After you've pulled yourself together, I want you to go down to the nearest police station and confess to attempted rape, and any other crime you may have committed, you complete scumbag." Then she let him drop back against the wall.

She stood up and turned to Damon who was beaming at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged as he handed her a napkin, "Just…I think I like this. Elena Gilbert: Femme Fatale!"

* * *

Author's Note: Phew, *wipes sweat off forehead* I really hoped you liked it! These characters took me to places I was not expecting, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Shout out to my lovely friend Sydney for letting me use her name and physical description! Anyway, let me know what you think, and keep your eyes peeled for updates: more Damon and Elena comin' right up!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Hi beautiful readers! Sorry it took me so long to crank this one out, I was camping and at one point had a little bit of writer's block. Fortunately, though, I got it out before the weekend, so you don't have to wait another couple of days!

Now, back to the story...

* * *

Damon and Elena arrived back at the Boarding House at around 2:00 am after speeding down the highway, repeatedly singing a rather loud rendition of Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot." Elena was having a long girl-power tirade, and it didn't stop until she stumbled into the front door of the Boarding House and into the arms of her boyfriend.

"Stefan!" She cried gleefully, "Hello, Stefan!" She slurred, "Vampire Boyfriend Stefan."

Damon followed after her, chuckling. "She's all yours, brother," he feigned being winded and wiped fake sweat from his brow, "Good luck." Then he disappeared up the stairs.

Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck, "Hi," she flirted.

"Hi," he smiled, pleased with the way Elena was now draped around him. He could smell the liquor on her breath, "And where have you been?"

Elena smiled secretively, "We went out for a drink." Then she turned and made her way over to the fireplace, where hot coals were burning, signifying the slow end of the fire. She plopped herself down on the floor in front of it and watched the small pulses of the red glow.

Stefan was suddenly nervous, Elena was acting very strangely when she arrived, and now she was being purposefully vague. Tentatively, he made his way over and joined her on the ground. "What kind of drink, Elena?"

Elena sighed, she wanted to avoid the guilt-ridden part of the night, but at the sight of Stefan, those hopes were quickly dashed. "Scotch, tequila, margarita…and Kentucky basketball fan," she listed off, trying to sound as casual as possible, while still getting the point across.

Stefan winced, "I thought you wanted _me_ to help you with all the blood stuff."

"I have to figure out what kind of vampire I want to be," she responded, mimicking Damon's words almost automatically, "And I'm sorry, Stefan, but you're not ready to help me with drinking from humans."

Stefan clenched his jaw, but nodded to signify his understanding, "Yeah, okay." He reached over to her and rubbed her back.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. At least that conversation was over.

* * *

Damon was still smirking when he got up to his room. He threw his jacket onto a chair, and then sped through his nightly routine. His clothes went into a hamper by the closet, and his body went into a pair of flannel pajama pants and white Hanes tee.

When he started brushing his teeth, his self-satisfaction greatened at the sight of Elena's used toothbrush. While scrubbing, Damon noticed that Elena's scent, though almost always lingering in his room, was particularly strong in that particular area and he followed it to his trash can, where he discovered her discarded clothing.

He scooped up the bag and exited his room. When he got to Jeremy's door he knocked. "Yeah?" Jeremy called.

Damon opened it and asked, "Jer, you hungry?"

"Sure," Jeremy said. He put his laptop aside and followed Damon downstairs.

Damon whistled, "Elena!"

She looked up from her spot on the floor as the boys entered, "Yeah?"

"Did you want your clothes back?" He asked, swinging the trash bag around in his hands.

"Never want to see them again," she stated firmly. Stefan looked at her with a question on his brow. "I took a bath," she clarified.

Damon tied the bag and tossed it to her, "Then throw away your own garbage. You live here now, that means you have to start contributing to the housework."

Elena rolled her eyes, then noticed something in Damon's back pocket. "Is that my bra?" She jumped up from her spot on the ground.

Damon's eyes widened in mock surprise and he pulled her white, lacy bra from behind him, "Is that what this is?"

"Damon!" She scolded, only half angry.

"Hey, you threw it out. It's public domain, Sweetie."

Elena laughed and dove to get the bra out of his hands, but he was too quick for her. The next time she lunged for it, she used her vampire speed. He chuckled and moved to the other side of the room.

"Oh no you don't," she warned. She ran after him and he sped off.

There were blurs of motion as Elena chased him around the room. Damon stopped by a lamp for a beat, "Over here," he taunted, a whoosh of air went by and he appeared by the fireplace, "Hidey-ho!" He called. Elena stopped at both locations and huffed in frustration.

Jeremy laughed as he watched them speed around the room. Stefan sat on the couch, around which Damon and Elena found themselves in a stand-off.

"Stefan," she whined, still glaring at her opponent, taunting him, "Damon won't give it back."

Stefan threw his hands into the air, "I am not getting in the middle of this," he insisted.

Elena cocked her head to the side, she was still staring Damon down, with a smile tugging at her lips, "Well, then. I guess I'm just going to have to do this myself."

Then she jumped over the couch and in one, swift movement, had Damon pinned on the floor. "Ha!" She declared, and raised her bra in the air in triumph.

"Go Elena!" Jeremy laughed, and clapped in congratulations. Stefan shook his head and smiled.

Damon made a move to grab it back from her and she slapped him across the chest, "I don't think so," she scolded from her position on his stomach. They locked eyes thing for a moment, but when she realized she was straddling him, she jumped up before it could get too awkward.

"This," she said holding up the bra, "and these," she gestured to the garbage bag, "are going in the trash. That is where they will stay until the garbage men come to pick them up," she looked pointedly at Damon who had just risen from his spot on the floor, "and then they will go to the dumpster where they will sit, slowly disintegrating for the next couple million years."

She went outside to throw them away. When she returned, Damon clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Now who wants pancakes?"

Jeremy and Stefan sat at the kitchen island, slicing strawberries and mixing whipped cream while Damon poured pancake mix that hissed in the pan. Elena sat watching the scene with bright eyes until Damon put her to work squeezing orange juice.

When their midnight snack was served, they sat around the island laughing as Stefan recounted stories about the '60s and their adventures at Woodstock. When Lexi came up, Stefan recalled her with a sad smile and Damon's brow furrowed worriedly. The mourning silence broke when Damon's Camaro was brought up, which launched the blue-eyed brother into an hour long tangent about his beloved car and all of their good times together.

They stayed like that until 5:00 the morning, when the nocturnal creatures realized that Jeremy was about to pass out into his maple syrup covered plate.

All of them walked up the stair together, and split their separate ways at the top. Damon and Jeremy stayed on the second floor and disappeared into their respective rooms, and as Elena was about to make her way to her new dwelling-place, Stefan tugged her hand and she laughed as he pulled her up to the third floor and his bedroom.

They fell onto the bed, wired, but exhausted and shimmied their way under the covers, both too tired to undress. He kissed her neck as she turned to be the little spoon, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her like they used to do. He fell asleep almost instantly, while Elena stayed awake a little longer, reminiscing about her first time hunting. When she finally fell asleep, she had a little ball of excitement settled in her stomach.

The next morning, Elena was awoken by a strip of sunlight coming through a crack in the curtains. She squinted as her eyes fluttered painfully, but a sudden alerting of the senses brought her to full consciousness. There was somebody else in the room.

She whirled around, her muscles tensed in preparation of attacking. Her eyes widened at the sight of the new, very unwelcome visitor draped over the foot of Stefan's bed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she shrieked, jostling Stefan from his slumber.

"Hello, Elena. Miss me?" The sickly sweet voice intoned.

Elena's eyes narrowed and Stefan bolted upright.

"Katherine," he growled.

* * *

Bonnie stumbled over the threshold as she tried to drag Matt inside his house.

"Bonnie," he warned, "I am perfectly capable of walking into my house. I was only in the hospital for a day!"

"You almost drowned!" She exclaimed, pulling him down the hallway, "You could have died! You could have been brain damaged for the rest of your life! I think I'll put you to bed."

Matt rolled his eyes, but let his old friend play nurse. Well, a nurse with crappy bedside manners and a not-so-gentle touch.

She hauled him into his room where he crashed backwards onto the rickety bed and sighed. Bonnie joined him and they lied in a comfortable silence for a few seconds.

"I can't believe Rebekah tried to kill me," Matt finally spoke.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "What do you expect, Matt? She's an Original."

"I don't know he pondered. I just thought that she…" his thoughts wandered and he left the statement hanging in the air.

"Seriously, Matt? Rebekah? You've got to be kidding me!" Bonnie accused when she realized what Matt was getting at.

Matt got defensive, "I just thought she liked me, okay?" He hesitated as he chose his next words, "I mean…she was sweet."

Bonnie turned to look at him with a disbelieving expression, "Wow."

Matt rolled his eyes, and smirked at her critical stare, "Shut up."

Bonnie snickered at him, and Matt, at first embarrassed got over it and joined in the laughter.

When their laughter dissipated, Bonnie sighed, "When did our lives get like this?"

Matt's voice lowered to a condemning tone, "When the Salvatores showed up."

Bonnie contemplated his statement before shaking her head, "No. They were always like this. We just didn't know about it."

His eternally sad, and eternally blue, eyes looked at Bonnie. "Yeah," he conceded.

"I'm so sorry about all of this, Matt."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because you're only in the middle of all of this by association."

"Bonnie…" he warned.

"I'm serious," she insisted, "You just happened to be friends with a witch, a doppelganger, a werewolf, and a vampire. You weren't born into this like the rest of us. You're not even one of the founding families!"

Matt thought about mentioning that Caroline wasn't born a vampire, but decided it wasn't conducive to the topic at hand.

"You tried to rescue Elena by getting her out of town," Bonnie continued, "but she was always going to be part of the Supernatural world. Maybe you should really be the one running."

Matt shook his head. "I though about it, but nah," the scar on his mouth contracted when his lips tightened, "I might not have been born to it, but I'm still as much a part of this as any of you."

Bonnie nodded and sat up, staring at the wall in front of her, "Then I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Tyler's not really dead."

* * *

Damon was jolted awake by the sound of a large thump from somewhere above him, he sat up when he heard the sound of shattering glass, but it was the high pitched, shrieking growl of Elena that finally got him to stand up.

"What the _hell_?" He mumbled as he meandered his way into the hall.

When he opened his door, he was confronted by the sight of a tangle of bodies thumping down Stefan's stairs followed shortly by a completely dumbfounded Stefan. Damon wasn't doing much better as he watched Elena pummeling herself with her fist.

When he realized what was happening, he sprung into action as he sped toward the mass of identical limbs, which prompted Stefan to follow suit. After a couple of minutes, and a lot of grunting, they were able to pull two shrieking girls apart. Damon was holding onto Elena, while Stefan gripped Katherine's waist as tightly as he could.

Katherine was clearly the superior of the two since Elena's arms and legs were covered in bloody scratches and her pinky was bent at an irregular angle. He looked at Katherine and observed with pride that Elena had gotten in a few good licks as well, her lip was bleeding heavily and her usually pristinely curled hair was sticking out in all directions.

Elena was fighting to get out of Damon's hold, trying to return to taking advantage of her newfound super-strength. "Easy, Elena," he cautioned.

"Let me go, Damon!" She struggled against his iron grip, which only tightened in response.

Stefan was having a different experience across the hall. Instead of fighting her captor, Katherine had resigned herself to acting as though she just found herself in the arms of her long-lost lover. She reached up to stroke Stefan's cheek and leaned back into his chest, watching Elena all the while.

"Look who put on her big girl pants this morning," Katherine teased. The men's grips tightened.

"What do you want, Katherine?" Damon snarled, still trying to keep Elena under control.

Katherine's face, which was formerly flirty and secretive, fell to serious and cold, "What's mine," she stated gravely.

Nobody asked for a clarification, they all knew who she was talking about. In fact, her fingers were caressing his imprisoning hands when Jeremy suddenly appeared in the hallway, looking utterly confused, and a bit disgruntled.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

* * *

Klaus was completely over the moon. He had dreamed about this moment countless times, but there he was, walking down the road with Caroline tucked under his arm while she pressed kisses to his cheek and rubbed his side with her delicate hands.

Of course, she thought she was with someone else, but he could ignore it for these few precious moments.

"Do you want to go back to the dungeon?" She whispered seductively. They had been wandering the woods after Damon kicked them out, and fallen asleep under a fir tree.

He laughed, remembering he was supposed to be playing the part, "Why don't we go to your place, enjoy a soft surface?"

Caroline shook her head, "We can't. The Council have the place surrounded."

"Wow," he responded, unsure of how to react.

"Yeah, it's worse than we thought," she said, "They know about all of us, and they're really not happy. Fortunately, they don't know about Elena yet, but when they do…"

"Elena?" Klaus asked.

Caroline giggled, "Yeah, I guess you didn't notice when you showed up earlier," she blushed, "Elena's a vampire.

His jaw clenched, suddenly feeling very vengeful, "How?" he growled.

Caroline told him about the bridge, Rebekah and Meredith, mentioning how Elena ended up in the hospital in the first place.

"Rebekah killed her?" He tensed, gripping Caroline more tightly.

"Yeah," Caroline sighed, "She probably did it to kill Alaric. Thank God Klaus is dead or we might have to deal with his wrath."

Klaus chuckled nervously, "Yeah…that would suck."

Stefan dragged Katherine away from the house, trying to get as much distance between her and Elena as possible.

When they reached the woods he slammed her up against a tree, "What are you doing this, Katherine?"

"I told you, Stefan," she smiled and put a finger on his chest, "I'm not giving up."

"Why now, huh?" He roared, "After all this time, why do you have to be here _now_? Today? When I'm finally happy!"

She winced, "Klaus is gone, Stefan. Now I can stop running. We can finally be together."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" His voice was low and menacing, "I don't want to be with you."

If she didn't see the small hesitation in his eyes that she had been clinging to for months, she might have lashed out, but instead she shrugged, "I'm a vampire, Stefan. I can wait forever." Then, she sped off, leaving him to his thoughts.

* * *

Damon brought Elena to his room to clean her off.

"This is really going to hurt, so brace yourself," he said, holding her left hand in his.

"Just do it," she demanded.

He pulled her pinky and set the bone back in place while Elena cried out in pain, "Son of a bitch!"

"Sorry," Damon shrugged, not sounding particularly sorry at all.

Elena rolled her eyes and sat in silence, watching as Damon took a wet cloth and started cleaning her thighs tenderly. Memories of the night in Denver overtook her like they always did when he touched her, and she had to fight to contain her desire.

Damon's brow was furrowed in concentration. Her wounds were healing quickly, but blood was still dripping down her leg. She would need some fresh blood, or she would be very hungry later. He tried to concentrate on the healing process instead of the fact that Elena was still wearing her miniskirt from the night out before and he hadn't heard any signs of lovemaking the night before. He also tried to ignore that her thighs were tensed while he cleaned them off, and that when he looked at her eyes, her pupils were dilated, signaling her arousal.

Elena broke the silence, "I can't believe she's back." Her voice was full of annoyance, and a twinge of fear.

He nodded in agreement, "I can't believe she attacked you."

She looked at him guiltily, "I may have been the one to attack her…"

"No way!"

She nodded, "Yes way."

Damon beamed with pride.

"What?" She noticed his expression.

He shook his head, "Nothing." Just when he thought he couldn't love Elena Gilbert any more…

* * *

Author's Note: Heeheee! If Katherine's not in Season 4, I shall be very sad. She is definitely in my top 5 favorite characters and she really hasn't had enough development...so I thought I'd take it upon myself. Sorry if all of the characters are distracting from Damon and Elena time, I'm trying to give them as many moments as possible while still moving the plot along.

Leave me a review and tell me what you think! I love writing this story and I have been so blessed with some of the best reviews ever! Thank you so much for that! This story has almost 4,000 hits and that scares me to death, but I am so happy!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Wow, this chapter's kind of short. Weird. I feel like the most happened in this one. Maybe I'm just deluding myself. So, hi guys! Enjoy the chapter! Hopefully, there are less typos than the last one. Haha.

* * *

Caroline's hand was intertwined with Tyler's as they made their way to the Lockwood mansion to find their mothers, and she had the distinct feeling that if she wasn't a vampire, the bones in her hand would be cracking right now.

"Tyler?" She prodded.

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" His jaw was clenched and he looked straight ahead, there was an unfamiliar calculating look on his face.

"I mean you've got a death grip on my hand," she explained calmly, "and you look really nervous."

They stopped walking, and he turned to face her.

"Why are we going to see them?"

Caroline's face scrunched up, "Um, well, we have to tell them that we're safe, that we're okay."

"Why? They think we're leaving anyway. Why don't we just go like we planned? We can go anywhere we want!" His eyes were alight with excitement, "Why don't we go to Paris? We can visit the Louvre and stay in a luxury hotel and eat pastries every morning…"

"Tyler…"

"Or how about Costa Rica? We can spend a summer on a pineapple farm, getting drunk on piña coladas," Caroline giggled with teary eyes as she watched the wheels turning in his head.

"Tyler…"she repeated.

"Or to Kenya on Safari! Or we could go to Russia and see the ballet. Oh! We could go scuba diving with the stingrays in Australia," he smiled down at her, "We wouldn't even need air tanks. I can hold my breath for a _very_ long time." His smile turned seductive and his arms pulled her towards him and he brought her in for a kiss that he hoped was convincing,

"Come on," he whispered when they pulled apart, "I want to experience the world with you."

His words made Caroline tingle. She looked up into his eyes, he was looking at her in a way she had never seen before. It was so hopeful, but so serious. He clearly meant every word he said, and it made her want to give him anything he wanted. However, her heart was split in two. She couldn't leave. Not now. Not when Elena needed her more than ever, not when her mother's life was in danger.

She reached up to touch his face, taking a deep breath to ready herself to reject his offer.

Before she spoke, they were interrupted by a buzzing in her pocket.

"Don't get it," he pleaded.

She pulled it out of her pocket, "I have too," she explained, looking at him pointedly, and his hands dropped from her waist.

She turned around to answer it, "Bonnie?"

"_Caroline!_" Bonnie's mechanical voice replied.

"Bonnie! Guess what! Everything's alright!" Caroline squealed into the receiver.

"_What? What do you mean?_"

"Tyler's alive," Caroline giggled, "He survived Klaus' death. He's here and he's fine."

"_Caroline…_" Bonnie's did not sound happy like Caroline expected, instead it was full of caution, "_Get away from him. That's not Tyler. That's Klaus. I had to put him in Tyler's body to save his life._"

"What?" Caroline turned around to find that Tyler, or Klaus, or whoever he was, had vanished. A cold gust of wind ripped by, but she couldn't feel it.

* * *

Damon and Elena were still in his bathroom. She was perched on the counter and he had moved from cleaning her thighs to her arms when Stefan walked in.

"She's gone," he reported.

"For now," Elena corrected.

"Are you okay?"

"Wounds are all healed up," Damon answered for her, "But she's lost some blood." He looked at Elena, "I'll go grab you a blood bag." Damon left the room, anticipating the confrontation that was about to go down.

Stefan and Elena looked at each other from across the bathroom for a few tense moments before Stefan spoke. "So, I guess you heard all of that."

Elena nodded, but she could still hear Katherine's warning, "_I'm not giving up._"

"It looks like Katherine's going to be here for a while," Elena said with faux enthusiasm.

Stefan shrugged, "It looks that way."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest, "So, what does this mean? Are we going to break up again to appease her? Maybe lock her in a room with you so you can either kill her or sleep with her?"

"Elena…" he started.

"No, Stefan, I'm serious," She jumped off the counter and walked towards him, "What are we going to do about this? She's in love with you and she's not going to stop until she gets what she wants."

"I know," he nodded.

"So many things can go wrong," Elena's voice started rising, "She's gotten better, Stefan. She can pretend to be me whenever she wants! There's nothing left to distinguish between us now."

"Well, that's just not true," Damon walked in, and handed Elena a blood bag, "You are eyes are significantly less dead than hers. I, for one, can spot her easily by the cold gusts of wind and flying monkeys that follow her around," he looked at his brother with a challenge in his eyes.

Stefan took the bait, "Yeah, I can tell you two apart, no problem," he moved close to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "You are nothing like her."

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's half-assed attempt at comforting.

"Thanks..." she said, looking first at Stefan, then at Damon, "But I still need to do something." She was resolved and walked out of the room toward her own.

She couldn't scar herself, she thought, the wound would heal immediately. Even if she pumped vervain to it, the healing process would only be prolonged.

She went to her dresser and started pulling out fresh clothes. Her night-out outfit went into the hamper and she exchanged it for a t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans. She had to _think_.

Damon listened as she rifled through her clothes, paced around her room, and finally raced out of the Boarding House, the door slamming behind her.

* * *

Small houses and tall trees whipped by as Caroline sped towards Matt's house. Her eyes were stinging with tears and her heart was full of betrayal.

She had kissed Klaus. His lips had touched hers. His hands had palmed her breasts. She slept in his arms.

She knew he was capable of despicable things, but she thought there was a line, at least when it came to her. Well, apparently not.

She didn't bother knocking, and she sped into the house, a world of fury behind her.

She stopped in the foyer and called, "Matt! Bonnie!"

"In here!"

Caroline walked into Matt's room and saw them lying back on the bed. She plopped down on the other side of Matt.

"I made out with Klaus," she whined.

"I _conspired_ with Klaus!" Bonnie replied.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with any of it," Matt added.

Bonnie and Caroline giggled.

When their laughter subsided, Caroline sat up, "What now?"

Bonnie shrugged, "I don't know. Where's Klaus now?"

"He disappeared while I was on the phone with you."

"Then we have to find him," Bonnie resolved, "and make him give Tyler's body back."

A few seconds of silence passed before Caroline inquired, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Bonnie thought about it, "He threatened that he wouldn't give Tyler's body back if I told anyone."

"Then why _did_ you tell me?"

"Matt told me to," Bonnie answered, gesturing towards their bedmate.

"Yeah, I figured either way we didn't have Tyler, so we might as well keep you safe," said Matt.

"Awww!" Caroline smiled and ducked down to hug him, giving him a smack on the cheek.

"Ew! I do not need Lips-of-Klaus residue on my cheek, Caroline!"

"Oh, shut up!" She groaned and smacked him across the chest, "They were technically Tyler's, you know!"

"How is that any better?"

* * *

Two and a half hours later, Elena walked back into the Boarding House. The two brothers were sitting in the parlor and turned in their seats to look at her when she walked in. Two sets of eyes widened at the sight of her.

"So, what do you think?" She asked.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Damon said.

Elena had dyed her hair completely bleach blond from root to tip, which brought out her olive skin drastically. Fortunately, the effect was much more rocker chick than beach bimbo, which was only assisted by the heavy black eye makeup she donned for the big reveal. Not only that, but she also got her hair cut. It no longer trailed for miles down her back, and instead, was styled in choppy layers, but it was still long.

She stood at the top of the stairs, awaiting their review.

Stefan was the first to speak, "I like it," he allowed, standing up.

Damon nodded in agreement and rose from the couch and walked towards her, smirking, "Very Cherie Currie."

Elena frowned, "I don't know who that is."

"The blonde from _The Runaways_," Stefan explained.

"Oh," Elena pictured Dakota Fanning, "I was going more for Taylor Momsen."

"Either way," Damon wiggled his eyebrows, "I like it."

Elena relaxed and smiled, "Okay."

Damon's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Hey, Barbie, guess what? You're not the only blonde bombshell in town anymore!"

"_What? Damon, focus_," Caroline replied, "_We've got a problem_."

"Let me guess, she' tall, brunette, and her name rhymes with…" he thought for a second before going with, "…Math bin."

"_Huh? What? Damon, has Tyler come by the Boarding House?_"

"The last time I saw Scooby-Doo, he was glued to your face."

"_Ugh, don't remind me_," she groaned, "_Well, anyway, as it turns out, Klaus isn't really dead. He's in Tyler's body._"

"Of course he is!" Damon exclaimed, "If you see Elena, it's not Elena, it's Katherine, she's back."

"_Of course she is!_" Caroline groaned in reply.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

"I have to go check on my mom. Tell her and Carol what's going on."

"Watch your back," he advised.

Damon hung up the phone and turned to Stefan and Elena who looked a couple of different shades of perturbed.

* * *

Klaus arrived at the mansion after escaping from Caroline.

At first, he thought about staying to try and explain himself to her, but in the end, realized that it would not work out in his favor. So he left.

"Rebekah!" He called into the house.

She appeared at the top of the stairs, "Tyler?"

"No, it's me, Niklaus."

"Nik?" She started rushed down the stairs and approached him with suspicion, "How is that possible? I saw Niklaus killed."

"No, Rebekah," he condescended, "You saw my body stabbed while I was safely tucked away in the body of my former progeny." His accent had returned, and Rebekah softened.

"Oh, Nik!" She threw her arms around him and began to sob, "We thought you were dead!"

"We?"

"Elijah and I," she answered with a tear-streaked face, "He came to collect your body from Elena and her _paramours_," she sneered when she referred to the Salvatores, "But then…but then…"

"But then our mother's monster got to me with the stake," Klaus finished for her.

Rebekah nodded.

"And what, pray tell, was our dear brother planning on doing with my body once he obtained it?" He inquired.

"I was going to keep you locked away for the next half century," Elijah looked down at his siblings from above.

"Yes, well, there goes that idea," Klaus dropped his hands and stepped away from his sister. "Come on. 'Bekah, it's time we left."

"What about your body?" Rebekah asked, still a bit unsettled by Klaus' current shelling.

"We'll pick it up on the way."

"You know where it is?" Elijah interjected, still standing on the landing.

Klaus shrugged, "The storage facility in Richmond, I expect."

"I doubt it," Rebekah added.

* * *

"So, where's Klaus' body now?" Elena asked Damon. They was still standing around the parlor, but had recovered from the shock of the Tyler/Klaus body swap mix-up.

"Right now?" Damon responded, "Well, it's in my trunk."

"In your trunk? So, then it's still in tact?" Stefan looked worried.

"Well, yeah."

"So why did we think the stake killed him?" Stefan accused.

"I don't know!" Damon defended, "I figured those were the rules. Original gets staked. Original dies."

"But Klaus isn't just any Original," Elena reasoned, "He's the Hybrid. The only way you can kill him is if you cut off his head, or pull out his heart."

Damon chided himself for his oversight, "Damn it, you're right."

"And Klaus is going to want his body back," Stefan mused, his eyes conveyed that his focus was somewhere far away.

"So we should put it where he can't get to it," Elena resolved.

Damon nodded, "The cave."

"Let's go, then," Stefan started toward the door, but stopped when Elena spoke.

"Damon," she said, "Where's Ric's body?"

Damon bent his head, "Also in the trunk."

She nodded, "We should bury him," she said, "have a chance to say good-bye."

A mourning silence fell over the trio before Damon spoke, "Today, then. After we secure Klaus' body." He started to follow Stefan out the door.

"Damon," he turned to face her, "We should put him on the Gilbert plot."

He nodded again, "Stay with Jeremy," he said, before the brothers disappeared through the door.

* * *

The group of Matt, Caroline, Bonnie, Liz, Carol, Damon, Stefan, Jeremy, Elena, and Meredith gathered at the Salvatore Boarding House before departing for the cemetery.

Elena had done away with the dramatic makeup and pulled her hair back into a tight braid, so the reactions to her transformation were far less shocked than the Salvatore brothers.

This funeral was far less formal than the other, since half of their group had found themselves between living situations. So a lot of clothes were borrowed, but nobody really cared about that.

Damon watched Elena as she slid into Stefan's passenger seat. This time, she held her head erect and looked straight ahead as she walked. He could see her fight to keep the grief at bay.

He, himself, was struggling as he drove his passengers to the cemetery where he had compelled Alaric a plot and a couple of grave diggers.

The humans in the group were bundled tightly in winter clothes to guard against the harsh cold. This funeral was much gloomier than the last. The sky was grey and cloudy, and a loud wind blew through the empty trees.

Damon was numb as he stood in front of his friend's grave. He didn't have any poetic last words or final goodbyes. Everything he ever needed to say to Ric was had been said, and even if the words were never spoken, they were understood.

A dull pain was festering in his chest as he watched Elena place a bouquet of flowers on the pile of dirt, the only indicator that a body laid there. He watched as the tears she had been holding back for weeks suddenly spilled over and her body trembled with sobs. He watched as Jeremy swept her up into his arms, and he was once again overcome with the feeling of unwavering helplessness as he watched the world collapse around the woman he loved. He again promised himself that he would protect her at all costs.

One day, he told himself, Elena Gilbert would be happy, even if he had to die to make it happen.

After a few minutes, the group dispersed to different parts of the cemetery. Meredith walked off to visit Brian Walters, Caroline and Liz walked towards Bill's grave on the Forbes plot, Stefan escorted Carol to the old mayor, Matt went to go see Vicki, and Bonnie visited her Grams.

Elena and Jeremy placed roses on the surrounding graves surrounding Ric's. She knew where they were, even if they lacked the traditional markings.

Elena, Jeremy and Damon stayed in front of Ric's fresh grave even after the rest of the group left for the Boarding House. Elena was back in Jeremy's arms and her head rested on his chest. After a while, she reached behind her in search of Damon's hand.

They stayed that way even after the skies opened and released a frigid rain.

"It doesn't really feel like it's almost Christmas, does it?" Elena finally spoke.

Jeremy held her tighter and Damon squeezed her hand.

* * *

Author's Note: All the Alaric feels! Wahhhhh! This chapter was ridiculous and probably _way_ off from what's going to actually happen in the show. Those writer's are ridiculous.

Anyway, leave me a review and tell me what you think! Chapter 10 is not far off.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: This one's kind of short, but I like how it ended up. Here's the story!

* * *

That night, Elena was sitting on her bed folding clothes she had brought from home. Well, her old home, anyway. She looked up when there was a small knock at the door.

"Come in," she called, knowing who it was without needing to look.

He entered her room silently and she scooted over to make room for him on the bed.

"Lookie what I found," Damon declared as he set himself beside her.

"Is that my necklace?" She asked, staring at the silver chain in his hand.

He held it up for her, and smirked, "Yup."

"Where'd you find it this time?" She tried to remember when she saw it last, but the memory escaped her.

"When the guards we compelled were putting Klaus' body in the cave, I saw it on the ground," he shrugged, "Too bad, it's so pretty and all."

_Oh right, _Elena thought, Rebekah threw it at her when she trapped her in the cave.

She sighed, "I don't know if I even want it anymore." Her eyes moved to the ring on her left hand and held it up, "I've got all the protection I need right here," she smiled up at him.

Damon thought he might explode, he loved it when she looked at him like that, and his stomach was suddenly alight with excitement at her tender relationship with the ring he gave her.

He tried to act non-chalant, "Well," he reasoned, "While I have to say that my taste in jewelry far outshines my brother's, we still have Originals to deal with, and _you_ are still vulnerable to their compulsion," he unclasped the necklace and held it up as an offering, "you might as well keep the herbal luck."

She turned around in her seat so her back was facing him and lifted up her hair, "Yeah, like a little, highly-recognizable-to-an-Original-Vampire necklace is going to save me from compulsion."

He lifted the necklace around her head and clasped it around her neck. When his fingertips brushed the base of her neck, it sent shivers down her spine, and she was reminded of the night he told her he loved her, the night she was compelled to forget.

She tried to distract herself as she moved to her previous position, "So, what is this, the third time you've brought my necklace back to me?"

He chuckled and leaned against the headboard. "Fourth," he corrected.

She sighed and smiled, then leaned forward to fold some more laundry. Damon looked around her room. Most of her clothes had been put away, but the room still had a few stray boxes here and there. He noted, with pleasure, the teddy bear on the bed that sat between them. He picked it up and put him in his lap.

"How do you like your room?" He asked.

"Um," Elena was folding a pink sweater, "It's huge."

"It's not_ that_ big," Damon pressed.

"Damon, it has a walk-in closet the size of the Taj Mahal," she pointed out, "Besides, you can only say that because you have the master bedroom."

"Maybe so," he allowed, getting up from the bed and moving towards the shaded window, "but you have the best view." He pulled back the curtains.

Elena joined him by his side and smiled. He was right. The window faced the back and the Boarding House's overgrown courtyard, which was encircled by the thick wall of trees, the entrance to one of Mystic Falls' many backyard forests. Over the tree-line, she could also see the steeple of Town Hall.

"Nice," she approved, "I think I could get used to this."

Damon chuckled, "Yeah," he reached over to her and fondled her blonde braid, "but I don't know if I can get used to_ this_."

She rolled her eyes, groaned, and gave him a hard nudge on his side, knocking him into the wall.

* * *

Caroline stayed at Bonnie's house that night. Mrs. Lockwood offered her a room at the mansion, but the decision was really a no-brainer.

She sat in Bonnie's kitchen, staring at her phone, the screen set on Tyler's number. She knew he had Tyler's phone, she just didn't know if he would answer. She didn't know if she _wanted_ him to.

"Screw it," she said, and hit the green button.

He answered after two rings, "Hello, Caroline."

She shuddered, Tyler's voice sounded so strange with Klaus' accent.

"Why are you doing this?" She challenged.

"Whatever do you mean, love?" His voice was flirtatious, but defensive.

"Why are you in Tyler's body?"

"Didn't the witch tell you? It was to save all of our lives," he replied with a lofty tone.

"Then why did you want me to think you had died, huh?" She was interrogating him now, "that Tyler died?"

"Oh dear, Caroline," her name fell from his tongue, "I couldn't have you and your little friends try and desiccate me again, now could I? You forget I have more than one enemy out there."

"That's only because you keep hurting everyone around you!" She accused, "Don't pretend like you want to run away. I know you, Klaus," she spat out his name, "You would rather stay, make Elena your blood bag, Stefan your ripper minion and Tyler your pet. And let's not forget, make me your little trophy," she growled.

Caroline had planned on calling Klaus and demanding the release of Tyler. Instead, it got very personal, very quickly.

Klaus had fallen silent.

"Just when I thought there was something redeemable in you," Caroline's voice dropped, "you took advantage of me. I don't think you understand what you've done."

The line was quiet as she let her words soak in.

"You could never be a mere trophy, Caroline," Klaus whispered. There was a soft click, and the line went dead.

* * *

The next morning was Christmas Eve, and Damon awoke, very pleased with himself. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't help it. Technically, Elena chose Stefan. Fine, he pretty much expected it.

What he didn't expect, however, was that she would be spending most of her time with _him_. And by him, he meant himself.

Elena had only been a vampire for two days, and already, she could control herself around humans. Not only that, but she could compel them and feed on them. She even had a particular taste.

He should have figured she'd be partial to the blood of the not-so-innocent. The poor girl had spent the better part of two years as part of a fight she couldn't even join. He knew now it would be next to impossible keeping her away from the action, it was hard enough when she was a human.

After taking a shower and shaving his face, Damon trotted downstairs to find Stefan, Elena and Jeremy in the kitchen. Jeremy was sitting at the island, munching on some cereal, reading the comics in the paper. Stefan and Elena were standing up, both clad in exercise clothes. Elena was bouncing from one foot to the other, her eyes bright with excitement.

She smiled when he walked in, "Merry Christmas Eve!" She greeted.

"And to you, too," he responded. He noticed her anxious bouncing, "And where are you off to, Ricochet Rabbit?"

"Hunting," Stefan piped up.

Damon sighed while he grabbed a mug for coffee, "Do you really think that's a good idea, Stef? We don't want her to develop a taste for her own kind, that's borderline cannibalism." He was getting dizzy watching Elena buzz around the room.

"Shut up, Damon," she said, then tugging on Stefan's arm singsonging, "Let's go!"

They trotted out the door and Damon watched Elena's ponytail swish behind her.

"This whole blonde hair thing is really weird," Jeremy stated.

Damon shrugged, "I _am_ more into brunettes myself."

Jeremy rolled his eyes, "Dick."

Damon shrugged and sipped his coffee. He didn't really know why, but he liked the kid. He was also fully aware that Jeremy looked up to him, a concept that should baffle him more. But then, Stefan was never the big-brotherly type.

Jeremy sat back in his chair, indicating he was done with breakfast.

Damon sat his mug down and cleared his throat, "Okay, let's go."

"What?"

"Dude, it's Christmas Eve," Damon said walking to the door, and donning his leather jacket, "We've got shopping to do."

* * *

Stefan and Elena came back from hunting in the woods after three hours of arguing. It started out innocently enough, when Elena asked Stefan about how his balancing act was going, now that he had "embraced that part of himself" that made him rip people to shreds.

It had ended with flying accusations and rage during which Damon and Katherine had been brought up more than once by both parties. Elena was thoroughly frustrated, they had barely hunted and their fight hadn't resulted in any kind of growth for their relationship whatsoever.

What angered her the most, though, was that Stefan insisted that her reluctance to sleep with him stemmed from the fact that she didn't actually want to be with him.

_What?_ She couldn't believe it. After everything they had been through, how hard she had fought to get him back, and she rejected _Damon_ to be with him. It was one of the hardest things she ever had to do and now he was _questioning it_?

She had been so excited for their hunting trip, too. Caroline said it would be fun. She told her it would taste gross, and it did, but according to her, Stefan was a good teacher. Elena had hoped it would bring them closer together, and remind her what a relationship with Stefan was like. It was a massive failure, and she only caught two animals. The dead, white bunny in her hands almost made her feel guiltier than the man outside of the hospital.

They were about a foot apart when they walked into the Boarding House, and Stefan bumped into her when she stopped short at the entrance with a gasp.

The parlor had been transformed into a page out of a Christmas catalog. Lights were twinkling down every straight surface, there was a bright fire alive in the hearth, the tabletops had been covered in white tablecloths and red candles, and in the corner next to the fireplace sat the most pathetic Christmas Tree Elena had ever laid eyes on.

Her eyes welled up at the sight and a broad smile spread across her face.

Jeremy walked in carrying a big box of decorations. "Merry Christmas!" He said when he saw the couple standing in front of the door, "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful!" Elena squealed and pulled Jeremy into a tight hug, "Merry Christmas!"

She looked over her brother's shoulder and caught sight of Damon, who had entered with a glass of eggnog. They locked eyes and a warm fire spread through her body. It was clear it had all been his doing, but she knew he would pass on all of the credit to Jeremy or Caroline. Her heart swelled, she was so unbelievably touched. So she gave him a small, speaking smile.

"Sorry about the tree," he said when she pulled away from Jeremy, "the good ones kind of run out after a while."

She looked down at it. It was about half her height and she could see right through it, but she shook her head. "No," she said, "it's perfect."

* * *

They invited the gang for their wine-and-Chinese-takeout Christmas, but almost everyone had plans. Caroline was with her mom and Mrs. Lockwood, and Bonnie was with her dad and Matt. Meredith wasn't answering her phone.

So they all sat around the grand dining room table, eating General Tso's chicken and Mu Shu Pork on the good china with the good silver.

Stefan's good mood seemed to have returned since he kept moving to squeeze Elena's hand or kiss her temple. Each time he touched her, she shot Damon an apologetic look. He rolled his eyes at her comically, making her need to hold back a giggle.

* * *

Jeremy left a few minutes after dinner and went to Bonnie's house. Apparently, they needed to "talk." Damon wandered upstairs, not feeling like third-wheeling it.

So, Elena found herself on the couch with Stefan who promptly pulled her in for a kiss, hoping to recreate their last time on the couch.

She reciprocated hesitantly, and cringed when he started moaning into her mouth.

"Stefan…" she warned.

He pulled her closer and prodded her lip with his tongue.

"Stefan, Damon is right upstairs," she mumbled into his mouth and put her hand on his chest.

Finally, he broke the kiss and looked at her, accusation in his eyes. "So?"

"So?" She whispered loudly, "He has super hearing!"

"That never stopped us before," he insisted.

"Yeah, well, things were different _before_," she stressed.

Stefan's brow furrowed and he hissed, "Why do you care so much about what he thinks?" Jealousy started bubbling up inside of him.

"Why don't_ you_?" She shot back, fire burning behind her eyes.

He huffed, "I just don't understand why I can't kiss _my_ girlfriend on _my_ couch when I want to."

"Because, it's mean!" She looked at him disdainfully, "God, you don't get it, do you?"

"What? That my brother's in love with my girlfriend? No, I get it, Elena. And he needs to get over it."

"Don't talk about it like it's some big problem or great betrayal, Stefan. He accepted our relationship, he backed off, and he's staying for _us_." Stefan was silent, so Elena continued, "He loves us both, and we shouldn't punish him by flaunting our relationship."

Now, it was Stefan's turn to make accusations, "You know, ever since we got back together, everything between us has revolved around _him_."

She froze while his words soaked in and she thought about the past few days. She decided he was right, it wasn't fair to him. She still wanted Damon in her life and she had been giving him a lot of attention, trying to show that she still cared about him, and in the process she had neglected her boyfriend. Finally, he resolved to make more of an effort.

"I'm sorry," she surrendered, "I guess I've just been worried about losing him."

He walked towards her and put his hands on her shoulders and smiled sadly, "Like he would ever leave."

Damon's jaw clenched as he listened to the fight from upstairs. He couldn't believe Stefan made her feel guilty about spending time with him. He got the girl, couldn't he just be grateful? Elena had enough to deal with, she didn't need to deal with his possession issues on top of it all.

* * *

On Christmas morning, Matt awoke at his house, alone, like he did every morning. Since it was a special occasion, he decided on a bigger breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and a bagel.

When he sat down at the table, in front of his morning feast, he was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Rebekah," he said when he opened it.

He could tell she was nervous. She was biting on her lip and looking at him through her lashes, "Happy Christmas, Matt."

"What are you doing here, Rebekah?" He was less nervous than he thought he should be, though she hadn't been invited in.

"I came to say good-bye...and to give you this," she held her hand out to reveal a small foil-wrapped gift.

"You tried to kill me," he reminded her.

Her hand dropped. "I tried to kill Alaric by way of Elena," she defended.

He sighed, "Yeah. I know"

Her pride kicked in, "I won't ask for forgiveness," she insisted, "I would do it again."

The way Rebekah could go from shy to proud in a matter of milliseconds terrified Matt. He was touched whenever she let herself be vulnerable around him, but he feared for the guy that ever took advantage of that. The girl was completely transparent, but totally insane.

She was also gorgeous.

Matt was a sensible guy, though, so he was able to keep that from getting in the way _too_ much.

"Well," he shrugged, "Looks like we're at a stand still."

Rebekah sighed, defeated, "For the record," she attempted, "I'm glad you didn't die."

He smiled at her, with the amused look he always donned when she was around. "Thanks, me too."

She turned to go with a polite smile on her face.

When she was halfway down the front path, Matt called her back, "Rebekah!" She turned to look at him, "What'd you get me?"

She smiled and trotted back towards him, "I thought you could put it in your truck!" She thrust the gift into his hand that was waiting past the threshold.

"Thanks," he said, accepting the gift, quickly pulling his hand back into the safety of his house.

"You're welcome," she said, if she noticed his precautions, she didn't say anything about it and hesitated before returning down the pathway.

Once more, he called to her, "Rebekah!"

"Yes, Matt?"

"Merry Christmas."

This time her smile was brilliant as she walked away.

When Matt returned to the inside and shut the door, he ripped the wrapping paper from the gift. He opened the box and guffawed. She, in all her 20th century charm, had gifted him a bobble-head figurine of a blonde-haired cheerleader. It was definitely going in his truck.

* * *

When Rebekah returned to the Mikaelson mansion she found Klaus, still in Tyler's body, sitting on the couch, bent over his sketchbook.

She sat across from him "I want to stay," she declared.

He didn't look up when he responded, "Why? For your beloved football player?"

"Oh, like you want to leave your precious Caroline," she sneered.

He sat resolved, so Rebekah reverted to whining.

"Oh, come on, Nik!" She encouraged, "You know you don't want to leave. Every time we try we can't. We have a home here, we have…" she almost said "friends" but thought better of it. Instead, she opted for, "We barely even have to live in secrecy. This place is crawling with the supernatural."

"That is exactly why we must go," he instructed, "there are too many threats here. It's not safe."

Rebekah smirked, knowing she had him, "We have spent the better part of a millennia running like foxes from dogs. When we are the Original Family! We should have been ruling!" She preached, "Now our father is dead. What better place to rule from than where it all began?"

* * *

Author's Note: I lovvvvvve Mabekah! Okay, the story's moving along. Can you feel the Stelena coming to an end? Because I can! Wooohooo! Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always good, so don't be afraid to speak your mind. Klaus dares you!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Hi guys! Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

On New Year's Day at four o'clock in the morning, Elena stumbled from Stefan's room wearing a pair of panties and her tank top. After a long night of heavy drinking and kissing Stefan at midnight while watching Damon's lips locked with_ Meredith's_, Elena had finally caved and went to bed with Stefan.

And by "went to bed" she meant _went to bed. _It was short and messy and they were both completely wasted. He kept repeating over and over how beautiful she was, how much he missed her, and how glad he was they were back together.

She returned the professions of love with equal enthusiasm, but mostly just gripped his shoulders as he thrust into her forcefully with rough grunts and his perpetually furrowed brow. She tried to stay as quiet as possible, but cried out when she came. She knew, though, in the end that it didn't matter. She hadn't been quiet enough.

And now, she was sneaking out of his room while he slept away the alcohol and pounding pop music.

As she walked through the darkened halls of the Salvatore Boarding House, Elena had the same feeling she had the night she lost her virginity. The meeting of her thighs felt numb and sore, and her heart was full of conflict. Instead of feeling like she had solidified some sort of bond with Stefan, it just felt like it sounded…like she lost something. Yet, she also was plagued with a deep sense of obligation that wasn't there before.

They had re-consummated their relationship. He was now not only her boyfriend, but her partner again.

She made her way downstairs, in the dead silence, on her way to the kitchen. She didn't really want anything but she just couldn't stay in Stefan's bed, lying next to him, watching him sleep as if nothing was wrong.

She stopped short when she was confronted with the sight of Damon in the parlor, sitting in the dark. His eyes were fixated on something across the room and his hands were clutching one of his crystal glasses, illuminated in the moonlight. "Have fun playing hide the sausage?" He asked abruptly. His voice was low and he spoke slowly, and painfully.

Elena didn't know what to say. He heard it, he knew everything. A sharp pang hit her chest. He didn't look at her.

"He's my boyfriend, Damon," she attempted feebly.

"Yeah," he said, taking a swig of his drink and then setting it harshly on the coffee table, "You just keep telling yourself that, Elena."

He stood up and swept past her, refusing to meet her gaze. She turned and watched him disappear into the dark recesses of the house. She wanted to call out to him, apologize, and tell him she wished she didn't have to hurt him all the time. She remained still, however, and resigned herself to the knowledge that this was all part of letting him go, of letting each other go.

That thought gave her little comfort when tears started spilling from her eyes and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing silently into the darkness.

* * *

School started that Monday, after they spent the remainder of the break refreshingly Council-problem, Klaus-problem, and Katherine-problem free. Stefan and Elena walked into the building hand in hand accompanied by Bonnie, Jeremy, and Caroline.

"This is it, guys!" Caroline declared, "This is our last semester of high school. Say good-bye to responsibility and grades that matter, and say hello to parties, prom and nostalgia galore!"

She ended her speech by trotting forward to Mrs. Baxter, the prom committee sponsor, who, fortunately, had school spirit to match Caroline's.

"As if my grades have mattered at all lately," Elena mumbled sarcastically.

Stefan chuckled and gave her hand a squeeze.

Their principal watched the group disperse from his spot next to the front entrance.

* * *

Matt pulled into the parking spot and the engine puttered when he turned off the ignition. He might have had car insurance, but it wasn't enough to get him even close to a decent truck. He had been working on this very old replacement for the past few days, but it didn't look like it was going to last.

He sighed, defeated, and stole a glance at the bobble-head figurine on his dashboard before grabbing his backpack and sliding out of the truck.

He smirked when he saw Rebekah making her way up the green. He jogged to catch up with her.

"Rebekah!"

She stopped and turned, smiling when she saw him. She held her books on her hip with one hand, the other she raised in greeting, "Hi."

He let out a deep breath when he stopped in front of her, "I didn't see you after Christmas," he said, squinting in the sunlight.

"Well, I…" she didn't know what to say. So, Matt continued instead.

"But I didn't have your number, so I couldn't text to see what you were up to," he cranked up the charm he reserved for special occasions.

She smiled, blushed, and bit her lip.

* * *

Bonnie and Jeremy made their way inside quickly. Unlike the majority of their social circle, both were quite affected by the winter chill.

Jeremy shivered dramatically in an attempt to warm up, "Winter in Virginia sucks. We get bitter cold, but no snow."

Bonnie chuckled as she unwrapped her scarf and they made their way to her locker.

"You don't think you could whip some up for us, do you?" He dropped his voice and nudged her side affectionately.

She looked at him with apprehension. "I'll see what I can do," she said with sarcasm.

"Aw, come on, Bon. Just a couple of feet?"

She opened her locker, "Uh…no."

He groaned, "Fine."

She shut her locker and they started walking again. "So, how's living at the Salvatore's going?"

He shrugged, "Alright, I guess. Though, living with Elena's never-ending love triangle is a little exhausting."

"I believe it," she agreed. "I can't believe she and Stefan got back together so fast."

He let out a dry chuckle, "I can't believe she got back together with Stefan at _all_."

"What do you mean? I thought you and Stefan got along," Bonnie reasoned.

Jeremy moved his backpack to his other shoulder, and moved his face closer to hers so she could hear his whispers, "All I know is that he left my sister at the bottom of a river to drown. Damon and I don't see eye-to-eye on much…but we definitely agree that if it was up to one of _us_…she would have survived."

Bonnie shook her head, "He saved Matt, because she wanted him to."

Jeremy shrugged, "She's my sister, Bonnie. I can't give you much more of an explanation than that."

* * *

"I'll see you in English," Stefan said, pressing a kiss to Elena's temple and releasing her hand.

"See you," she smiled.

She turned the corner to a new set of red lockers and froze when she saw Rebekah walking toward her.

"Rebekah," she snarled.

"Elena?" Rebekah squinted her eyes trying to look past the blonde hair as she walked, menacingly, straight to her, "I would say 'nice hair' but…" She paused, looking her over, "Vampirism's not really treating you very well, is it?"

Elena had planned for this meeting. She had considered getting angry and lashing out like with Katherine, but an Original Vampire was a different beast. The time Elijah slapped Trevor's head clean off was still very fresh in her memory. So, instead, she opted for the peaceable route.

"I killed you, you killed me. Even, alright? She held her head high.

Rebekah cocked her head and her eyes drifted to the base of Elena's neck. "Nice necklace," she purred.

Elena's hands remained at her sides, "Do you want it back?"

Rebekah shrugged, "I can't be compelled, so I really have no use for it," her nose scrunched up and she looked back at Elena, "We're going to be here for a while, you might want to keep it."

Elena huffed, there really was no getting rid of the Original Family. They were like sweat stains, or a lotion demonstrator at a mall kiosk.

"Stay away from Matt," Elena's eyes flashed with warning, "He's a human, and he's already too wrapped up in all of this." Rebekah was only an inch taller than Elena, but in her token heels, Elena was dwarfed when standing next to her.

Rebekah smiled but her eyes were cold, "Oh, dear Elena. So sorry, but not all of the boys in this school are head over heels in love with you. Some of them actually have taste."

Elena's jaw clenched and she continued to stare Rebekah down.

"Oh, come on, Elena. Is that all your angry about?" Rebekah challenged, getting closer, "I know you've been itching to wring my neck. I did sleep with your darling Damon, after all."

Elena blew out a breath, trying to calm herself down. She shook her head, "I'm back with Stefan," she confirmed.

"Oh," Rebekah backed away from Elena's face and leaned on a heel. She looked Elena up and down before stating simply, "Then you're an idiot."

* * *

Meanwhile, Damon was sitting at home, lying back on the couch reading Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_ for the umpteenth time when the door opened.

"Damon, we need to talk," Elena's voice rang out from above his head.

He started sitting up and said, "Shouldn't you be in school?" He stood up to face her and was confronted with Elena's face, but she had brown hair. _Katherine_. Damon smirked. She had no idea.

"I skipped. Stefan and I don't have first period together," she shrugged. Damon had to admit, she had the doe-eyed look down pat.

He walked towards her flirtatiously, "So, you came all the way back down here to tell me what, exactly?"

"I made a mistake!" She declared, "I should have chosen you."

He saw Katherine breaking character slightly, but he continued to play along.

"Elena…" he dropped his head, conveying vulnerability.

She walked toward him and placed her hand on his chest, "I want _you_, Damon. Just you," she whispered as she reached her lips up to his.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a dip. His lips lowered to hers and he pulled her in tightly for the kiss. She moaned theatrically into his mouth and he rolled his eyes.

Then, he wrenched his lips from hers and dropped her with a hard thud onto the ground.

"Damon!" She whined from her spot on the carpet.

He stood up straight and looked down at her, "You know, Katherine, if you're trying to win my brother back, making out with me is probably not the best way to prove your devotion to him."

"How did you know?" She miffed.

Damon shrugged and plopped himself on the couch, returning to his book, "Probably has something to do with the big, red A stitched to your chest."

She scoffed, "Whatever, Damon." She leaned her head back on the ground. Her hair was spread out in a fan around her head and her arms plopped down at her sides as she sighed in defeat.

Damon looked up from his book and eyed his ex-lover who was sprawled out on the floor. He narrowed his eyes and jutted out his chin when he sneered, "You can go now."

She ignored him, "I just don't get it."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't respond, refusing to get involved. Instead, he tried to concentrate on his book.

She continued anyway, "Why is he in love with her? She was just supposed to be a temporary replacement."

He still didn't acknowledge her.

"Killing her probably isn't an option," she mulled it over out loud, "Then, he would just hate me. It would take him forever to get over it."

"He hates you, anyway, Katherine," Damon allowed.

"Oh come on, Damon," Katherine sat up and rested on her elbows, "You don't want them together anymore than I do."

He shrugged, "She made her choice."

Katherine stood up and put a hand on her hip, "Wow, Damon. I never figured you for a quitter," she lectured.

He shut his book with frustration and crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't _quit_, I backed off," he clarified, then made his way over to his bar to pour himself a drink.

"He still loves me, you know," she called behind him.

"Sure, he does," Damon grumbled sarcastically.

"He does," she insisted, "He just can't trust me yet."

"And your little display here was supposed to regain that trust, how?" He turned and smirked at her. Something was different about her. She was working the carefree, bitchy angle harder than ever, which only indicated to the vulnerability brewing under the surface.

She shrugged, "I figure you're probably my best chance at getting rid of Elena."

He groaned, "Go away." He leaned over the couch, grabbed his book, and made his way upstairs.

* * *

Elena slid into her seat next to Caroline in the back of Trig.

"Hey," Caroline greeted her.

"Rebekah's back at school," Elena whispered.

Caroline groaned and the bell rang.

"Good morning, class!" Their teacher, Ms. Duncan announced, and the students started milling to their seats, "I hope everyone had a good winter break. Now, if everyone could please take their seats, we will continue with circular functions."

Elena sighed as she opened her notebook. She had barely gone to school these past months, and even when she did manage to show up, she could hardly pay attention. So, she tuned out and started writing a note to Caroline to tell her about New Year's.

"Elena Gilbert?" Ms. Duncan's voice pulled her from her concentration.

"Yes?"

"They need you in the principal's office," her teacher was holding up a neon yellow slip.

"Um, okay?" Elena gathered her things and she and caught Caroline's eyes who was looking at her with a confused look. Elena shrugged and mouthed, "I don't know."

Her teacher gave her the pages for homework and gave her the hall pass.

Elena walked by the closed classroom doors and skippers on her way to the front of the building.

She had never been to the principal's office before, so she went to the main office instead.

She approached the school secretary, "Um, I got called down to the principal's office?"

"What's your name" The woman asked, not looking up from her computer.

"Elena Gilbert."

She finished typing and looked up at her, "Okay, Honey, give me your slip and he's right through that door," she pointed.

"Thank you." Elena said and made her way in the direction she was pointed.

She knocked on the wooden door timidly.

"Come in," his voice boomed from behind the door.

She entered quietly and was greeted by her principal. He had dark, silver hair and well-trimmed goatee. He was young for a principal, not much older than her father would be.

"Please, Elena, have a seat," he gestured to the generic red chair across from his desk with a polite smile.

"Uh," she hesitated before sitting down, "Thanks." She sat her books on the floor at her side.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked, indicating to the water cooler in the corner of the room.

Elena was hesitant, not knowing the proper etiquette, but in the end, she agreed. "Thanks."

He got up to pour her a cup. "So, I guess you're wondering why I called you down here?"

She nodded.

"Well, I thought we could have a little chat, Elena," he handed her the drink. "You may not know this, but I used to be very well acquainted with your parents."

That should have been the first indicator of danger, but Elena took a gulp of the water and immediately sputtered. A searing pain ripped through her throat and she suddenly had a great deal of trouble breathing.

She collapsed forward onto the floor and saw him looming over her. "Vervain," he confirmed as she writhed on the floor, his face had spread into a proud, toothy grin.

She coughed, "You can't do this," she begged.

"Oh, but I can," he retorted. He jabbed something into her leg and she had to struggle to retain consciousness.

Right before she blacked out, she remembered something. His name was Principal Walters.

* * *

Author's Note: I would just like to clarify that Julie Plec totally hinted at a new villain. Okay? It's going to be hard to develop him, but we'll see how this goes.

What'd you think of the chapter? How are you liking the story? Leave a review and let me know!


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Let me just preface this one by saying, "I'm sorry."

* * *

Every inch of Elena's body was sore. It was like her veins had been infiltrated by a harsh drug that was fighting with her cells for dominance. Her eyelids were weighed down and her head was spinning. She didn't know which way was up, and she could find no motivation to figure it out.

That is, until her eyes fluttered open when she was startled by the sound of loud, muffled voiced.

"What are you going to do with her?" A woman was panicking somewhere far away.

"I don't know!" The gruff voice of a man responded.

Their conversation continued, but none of it registered to Elena, she was concentrating too hard on keeping her eyes open and inspecting the damage to her body. At first, she couldn't even tell where her limbs were. Her head was pounding and she had to concentrate and remind herself to breathe. After a few strangled coughs, her head started to clear up. It hurt like hell, but she could keep her eyes open long enough to figure out what the room looked like and what position she was in.

Her arms were stretched out above her head and her shoulders were strained from the pressure. Because of her arms, she could only turn her head to the side by stretching her neck to the front or the back. Because her arms and shoulders were completely out of commission, her neck barely had any support left.

Her wrists were handcuffed and chained around a thick pipe on the ceiling. She looked down. Her ankles were also cuffed and chained, though more loosely than her hands. The chain was also nailed to the floor for good measure.

She looked around the room. She saw a few small windows dotting the room near the top of the walls. There was rusty shelf with tools and long-abandoned knick-knacks. She could smell mold, car oil and old dust. She was clearly in somebody's dank basement, a common occurrence in the historic homes of Mystic Falls.

She tested her strength and could practically hear Alaric's voice in her ear, telling her to fight without mercy, because that's what the enemy would do. She needed to focus. Where was she, and how was she going to get out of there?

Unfortunately, her arms refused to cooperate since the vervain in her system had taken over her body. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but she knew that she hadn't been working on vervain immunity. So, she calculated it must have been several hours, longer than the school day. Her friends were probably narrowing in on her right now since Caroline had been there when she was called to the principal's office. Not to mention, they had Bonnie.

Still though, she wasn't about to depend on them for a rescue. There were still obstacles, how to get into the house, for one thing. Plus, who's to say the Council hadn't individually picked them off yet?

Whoever set up her captivity was clearly inexperienced and seen too many movies. The only thing that even held her there was the vervain. The nail at her feet could easily be yanked out and the pipe was, though not as easily, breakable. The closeness of her release and the inability to obtain it was maddening.

She needed her strength back. She needed blood.

Her attention was brought back to the voices upstairs when the man's voice begged, "Should I call in the Council?".

Her senses honed in on the humans above her, she heard two pairs of footsteps directly above, and two fluttering hearts. She tried to clear her mind to reach her hearing farther. There was rushing water coming from outside, like a river or a water fall. Though, her initial suspicion was true, there were only two. So far.

Two humans, she could handle that.

She decided to get their attention before they did something smart, like calling in reinforcements.

"Hello!" She called, her voice was raspy, "Is anybody there?" She rattled the chains and feigned struggling. "Help me! Please!"

Suddenly, there was frantic shuffling and the man's voice warned the woman not to go down the stairs.

Elena smirked to herself quickly before settling into her "I'm in so much pain" act. Which she was, but it wasn't weighed down by hopelessness, which helped quite a lot.

"Hello?" She called out again when the door at the top of the stairs opened.

He stopped at the top. "Hello, Elena." His voice was grave.

"Principal Walters?" She inquired.

He began descending the steps, one by one. "Elena Gilbert," he announced, "Citizen of Mystic Falls, student of Mystic Falls High School; Daughter of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, sister of Jeremy Gilbert, niece of John Gilbert; heir to the Gilbert Fortune, the Gilbert Legacy…" he stopped in front of her with his hands behind his back, "and betrayer of it all."

What was it with people bringing up her parents these days? And why did it always manage to hit right where it hurt? She looked up at her captor. His eyes were baggy and his face was long and skinny. The nose that was sticking out far too close for comfort was fierce and straight. His heart was beating rapidly, betraying his fear. The smell was intoxicating.

She coughed and said meekly, "What do you want with me?"

He cocked his head to the side, and declared, "Why, information, my dear!"

"What…information?" She questioned. Her head was bent low and weakly. Keeping her eyes open still required a little more effort than usual.

He reached over and lifted her head up by her chin, "How are you able to walk in the sun?"

She cocked her eyebrow, "You don't know?" She condescended.

That earned her a tight slap across the face that threw her head back. Her cheek began to sizzle.

"Vervain slap," she chuckled, "Creative."

He sneered, clearly proud of herself, "Who are the other vampires?"

She scoffed, "Oh, come on. These questions just keep getting easier and easier."

This time he backhanded her and the other cheek was blistering.

"Tell me!" He screamed into her face. She could smell the garlic on his breath.

Garlic? Really?

She growled in response, "Is that all you've got?"

He backed away and smiled, "Not even close, little girl."

* * *

A few hours earlier, Stefan made his way to English class and sat next to Caroline.

"Hey," he greeted.

"You come here often?" She mock-flirted.

He chuckled, "Yeah, if it wasn't for…" he raised his brows and widened his eyes to suggest compulsion, "I don't think they would ever let me back here."

She smiled, "Well, without…" she mimicked his eye gesture, "You wouldn't be here in the first place."

"Very true," he acknowledged.

She decided to steal these few moments with Stefan before Elena showed up, "So, how's everything going?"

He shrugged, "Good. I mean, Elena's doing really well with the transition. She hunts well, though," he chuckled with a twinge of disappointment, "I don't think she's going for the animal diet."

Caroline smiled warmly at her friend. "I already knew all that," she sighed, "I meant, how's everything going with _you_?"

He smiled back gratefully, and let out a deep breath. "Um, well, better than expected. Elena and I are good. We've had a couple of fights since we got back together, but we're working through it."

Caroline gave an encouraging smile, she hoped he was right.

The bell rang.

"Where's Elena?" Stefan piped up.

Caroline looked around, Elena was nowhere in sight. "Um, I don't know. I guess she's still in the principal's office."

"The principal's office?" Stefan was confused. What did he need Elena for?

"Yeah, she got called down at the beginning of first period." Caroline started digging in her bags for her books.

Something suddenly didn't sit right with him and he inquired, "She's been in there the whole time?"

"Uh…yeah," Caroline answered as if it had just occurred to her, then she froze and grabbed Stefan's arm. "Stefan," she hissed, "Our principal is named Robert Walters." He looked at her uncomprehendingly, and she confirmed, "He's a founding family member."

Stefan's brow cleared and it felt like somebody had punched him in the gut, "He's on the Council."

* * *

Her chains rattled and Elena screamed. A wooden stake was lodged in her gut and blisters on her face were oozing blood.

"Who are the other vampires?" He roared once again.

Her torso was convulsing rapidly as she strangled for breath. In and out, in and out. "You can go to Hell," she roared.

He brought a steel knife to her jaw, "Why are you protecting them?" He whispered. He had removed his shirt and was now only dressed in a white, sweat-stained tank and his belted khakis. "What do you care if they live or die?" The knife made a knick on her chin, "You're a monster."

"They're my family," she whispered back.

"Oh, I already know all about your little _family_," he spat. "There's perky young Caroline, and her hybrid boyfriend—strange phenomenon that one." She watched in horror as he listed off every person she hoped to protect. "Then, there are of course, the Salvatore brothers. Though, I wasn't sure about you," the knife sliced into her skin and he began tracing down her neck with the blade, "until I tested you with the vervain. Now, who are the other vampires in this town, Elena?"

She huffed and tried to contain her screams of agony, repeating in her head, _I have stabbed myself, this is nothing! _

She tried to concentrate on his question. Other vampires? He pretty much just covered them. Except for the Originals.

"I don't think you want to know," she choked out as the knife reached the hollow of her throat.

"Oh, but I do," he smiled.

"They'll kill you," she said, "Without blinking."

"The Council has been doing this for a very long time, Elena," he warned.

"Oh, right, the Founding Family members," she mocked, "Humans…"

"That's what you monsters can never understand," he placed the knife back to her skin, this time, near her ribcage, "Humans know love. We care for one another, we fight for one another, we have something to live for. That makes us strong." He jabbed the knife in and split her lung.

She screamed in agony.

"We are not your enemies!" She screeched, "If you go after them, you will all die!"

"Tell me who they are, Elena!" He insisted and jabbed another knife into her torso.

She screamed again. The pain was dizzying and she could feel the life draining out of her through the holes in her stomach.

* * *

"I can't find Bonnie," Caroline reported after she and Stefan ran out of English to assemble the team.

"Damon's on his way," Stefan replied.

Sure enough, Damon showed up at his side, "What happened?"

Caroline told him about the Principal and Elena.

Damon hissed, "He's going to kill her, if he hasn't already."

"No, no, we can't think like that," Stefan instructed. "We need to focus. Where could she be?"

"Get the witch to do a locator spell," Damon insisted.

"She's missing too," Caroline offered.

Damon's mind was reeling, how were they going to find her? He started marching towards the school.

"What are you doing?" Caroline scurried after.

"I'm going to find out where the Principal lives. I'm going to go to his house, and then I'm going to kill him!"

* * *

"You know, I could always just ask your brother," Walters said as he walked around her, inspecting his handiwork. He had removed all of his torture utensils only to reposition them somewhere else, only jabbing in harder and deeper. He was getting dangerously close to her heart with the wooden stake.

"You leave him out of this," she grumbled.

Elena felt completely defeated. During the torture, most of the vervain had been drained from her system, but so had most of her blood. She could feel herself on the brink of death, each moment that past brought more pain with it. She could give it all up, she knew that, and the pain would stop.

But then she would be dead, and everyone would be in danger. The Council would go after Caroline, Tyler, Stefan and Damon, and the Originals. Then, the Originals would go after them.

Nobody would win, and everybody would die.

So, she kept her mouth shut, waiting for death. She could feel all of her instincts pushing her to turn it all off and let go of the suffering.

She never thought this was how it would end. Dying only to come back to life and be immediately swept away by a stranger. Even after hours of being afflicted by this man, he remained faceless. Instead, with every stroke of pain, he wore the face of grief, hunger, never-ending helplessness, and relentless guilt.

With every stab of the knife, she watched her father disappearing into the watery abyss once again. With every puncture wound, she could hear Jeremy's sobs pounding in her head. She saw Stefan's face turning feral and wild coming to attack her, imprisoned by his own remorse and addiction. She watched Damon's face contorting in pain every time he raced to make everything work, only to have it slip through his fingers.

She hated that it was going to happen again.

She knew he would be fighting to save her right now, and she wished more than anything, for his sake, that she might survive.

But she didn't know if she could. She was hanging from the ceiling, unable to move while a man asked her questions she didn't have the answer to, nor did she care. All she wanted, all she could think about, was that she wanted it to end.

So, she ended it.

* * *

"Get in there!"

Klaus had Bonnie by the back of the neck and he pushed her into the cave.

"Calm down, Klaus," she yelled, hair swirling around her head when she spun to face him, "I don't want you in Tyler's body any more than you do."

He shrugged, leaning on a rock at the barrier, "Well, I can't have you people running off to throw me in the Atlantic again, now can I?" He pointed at his corpse, which was sprawled out on the ground, "Now, get on with it."

* * *

The pain was still there, but she didn't care. Elena didn't care about anything anymore.

The puny man was standing in front of her again, and he began removing the knives and the stake, "Let's try another question, shall we?"

She raised her head to look up at him.

"Who killed Brian Walters?" He asked, with the knife poised above her heart.

It took everything she had, but she wasted no time. In one, fluid motion, Elena yanked the nail out from ground and had her legs wrapped around his waist.

He didn't have time to react before she pulled him toward her and sunk her teeth into his throat.

She drank deeply and without abandon. She could taste the traces of vervain in his system, but it was nothing compared to the complete euphoria of his hot blood dripping down her throat.

Before she knew it she had sucked him dry. She released him and he fell, dead at her feet. Her head was swirling and she could feel herself blacking out, but there was no fear to get in the way. So, she fought.

She slid the chain over to a groove in the pipe and pulled to no avail. She tried swinging her legs up above her head so she was upside down and her feet were poised at the ceiling. Her sneakers kicked at the ceiling and her hands pulled at the pipe until both gave way and she fell, on the cusp of consciousness, to the ground. Water sprayed from the broken pipe and cement sent white dust to cover her.

At the top of the stairs, a door creaked open.

* * *

Damon led Caroline and Stefan as they sped through the forest toward the house by the river. They had already been to the Walters house downtown to find it empty and un-enterable. Now, they were on their way to the Falls where, according to Liz, the Principal had a river-side cottage.

Damon stopped short when he heard a blood-curdling scream.

"Elena," Stefan roared.

Damon put his hand on Stefan's chest to steady him, "That's not Elena."

They sped toward the house and Damon broke the doorknob when they reached the porch. He tried to get in, but was blocked by the mystical barrier. He knew Elena was in there, and he kept pushing, even though he knew it was no use.

"Elena!" He called, not knowing what else to do. Caroline and Stefan could be doing the jig behind him, for all he knew.

Suddenly, he stumbled forward into the house.

Whoever used to live there, didn't anymore. He didn't question it as he propelled himself into the small cottage, calling her name.

Finally, he went to the basement and there, he found her standing, two limp bodies as her feet—a man and a woman. "Elena?"

She looked up at him without any recognition in her eyes. Her chin was dripping with blood, her fangs were out, and her whole body was stained with red. The black makeup on her eyes had bled with her tears and cascading all the way down to her chin. Her cheeks were blistered and cracked.

Her blonde hair was damp, sticking out in all directions, and the tell-tale red liquid was dripping from it. He couldn't tell if it was her blood or the blood of the bodies at her feet. He saw the remnants of multiple stab wounds all over her stomach, chest and legs. His eyes stung with tears when they raked her body inspecting every slice, cut, and bloody hole that crimsoned her person. The pain must have been excruciating.

"Oh my God," Caroline whispered when she entered.

"Elena!" Stefan started rushing toward her, only to be stopped at the waist by his brother.

Elena's head cocked to the side as she watched the trio staring at her. She could see the horror and desperation in their eyes. She didn't know what to tell them.

"I need another drink," she reported. Damon, Caroline, and Stefan watched as she sped past them and out of the house.

They all stood, frozen, and assessed the room. Principal Walters and his wife were strewn out across the ground, their bodies bent at irregular angles, deep bite marks at their necks were shedding blood onto the ground.

Damon was the first to notice and the first to speak, "Her humanity is gone."

* * *

Author's Note: Didn't see that one coming, did you?

Don't worry, I have lots in store for our little vampire pals. Leave me a review telling me what you think and I'll see you next chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Okay, so this one's short and it took me forever to get uploaded, but in my defense I had to pack for college, move out, and then start a job all within a week. Plus, the internet here sucks and my computer keeps blue screening because of the humidity in my room.

Anyway, enough complaining from me. Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

"We should get rid of these bodies," Stefan growled, his eyes fixed on the blood pooling on the floor.

"I've got it," Damon responded. He and Stefan held very similar stances. Their hands were fisted at their sides, their jaws were clenched and their shoulders were squared.

"Damon…" Caroline whimpered behind him, tears stinging her eyes.

"I said I've got it!" Damon roared making her jump back in surprise. Stefan's face was beginning to show the first signs of change and Damon sprung into action, "Get him out of here."

"Stefan, we've got to go," Caroline cried, pulling on Stefan's arm as tears started rolling down her face. He didn't budge so she gave his arm a firm yank, "Stefan we have to go!"

His face was darting from body to body frantically until Caroline pulled him from his frenzy. "Now!" She screamed.

When she finally got him out of the house, Damon stood fuming, studying the carnage at his feet. Tears began to prickle his eyes as flashes of the way he found Elena went through his mind.

How could anyone do this? How could anyone touch Elena and cause her pain? She was the epitome of good. She fought so hard for everyone around her, without a second thought for herself.

He stared at the dead man on the ground. This was the man who hurt Elena, who dared laid a finger on her. He was almost disappointed he was dead. That way, he couldn't kill him.

Without anyone to kill or anything glass to throw, all Damon could do was double over in choking sobs. He pictured her hanging, helpless from the ceiling, fighting so hard to stay alive, to protect her family, waiting for him to save her. He could almost feel her faith in him. Once again, he failed her.

He remembered the dead look in her usually warm eyes. They weren't even fiery and cruel like Katherine's, all the fire had gone out, snuffed by the spineless cruelty of the man on the floor. He couldn't take it, that look of cold indifference pained him more than any rejection she could ever give him.

Elena, in all her goodness and love, was gone. She had been hallowed out by a world that was too cruel to a girl that did nothing but try. It was days like this that Damon remembered why he didn't believe in a God.

Damon collected the remnants of Elena's killing and dumped them into the river. An inferno of hate propelled him out of the woods and he sped, with fury, toward downtown.

He didn't know why he did it, there were no rational thoughts behind his actions. All he could see was Elena. Cars and trees and houses sped past him and he remembered the way she looked at him, with more understanding and love than anyone had ever looked at him before. He felt her hands on his face, around his shoulders, and on his arm. He heard her laugh, and saw the smile that took his breath away.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he recalled her words from the night he thought he was going to die. "_I like you now. Just the way you are."_ And with that memory burned into his brain, Damon found himself at the Walters mansion, standing back as he watched it ignite in flames.

* * *

Stefan and Caroline arrived at the Boarding House and collapsed onto the living room floor in a heap. They both sat like that for a few moments in shock before Stefan started clutching his head while sobs rippled through him.

Caroline's tears started pouring out as well and she reached over to Stefan, pulling him into her arms. They held each other as they cried. This was never an outcome that anyone had anticipated. No one could even picture Elena without kindness and morality. Now that part of her was gone, what did that even mean?

Caroline knew, and so did Stefan, that the torture wasn't what did her in. Caroline had been shot repeatedly by wooden bullets and had pencils jabbed through her fingers. Stefan had been hung from the ceiling, much like Elena, and had hot pokers jabbed into his abdomen. Yet, both had been able to hold to their humanity. Something else happened in that basement. Something they couldn't see.

They were both startled when the door swung open to reveal Elena.

Stefan jumped up from his spot on the ground, "Elena."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't get up on my account," she gestured with her index finger, "As you were." Her face was bloodstained and her eyes mocked them.

He started walking toward her, "Elena…" he repeated.

"I said," she rushed toward him and pushed him to the ground, "As. You. Were." She turned and disappeared up the stairs.

Caroline looked at Stefan, who had a devastated look on his face.

They sat in silence as they listened to water running upstairs. They heard drawers opening and shutting frantically as she whirred about only to return a few minutes later. She had a small suitcase slung over her shoulder, was wearing fresh clothes and her face was clean.

This time, it was Caroline's turn to speak. "What are you doing?" She got up and walked toward her friend.

Elena looked her dead in the face and recited, "I'm leaving."

"Like hell you are!" Caroline moved to grab her bag, but Elena ducked out of the way.

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but Stefan spoke first, "She's right, Elena. You're not going anywhere."

Instead of launching into a cruel dig at Caroline, Elena turned to her boyfriend and stared at him with empty eyes.

"You know, I don't even know what I saw in you," she sneered, "You can't even hold yourself together while your in-transition-supposed-love-of-your-life is sucking on a blood bag."

Stefan stood, stoic, as Elena walked toward him, "I wasn't going to break up with you, you know," she continued, "I was going to keep trying to make it _work_," she groaned, "Even though, night after night after night as I lied in your arms, all I wanted was to be far away, feeding on some girl's tender neck, or lying on a beach in Fiji drinking mojitos. Even sitting holed up in some dingy motel off I-75 would be better then the crushing guilt and obligation that comes with being your girlfriend." She growled out the final words. Then, not bothering to watch them soak in, turned on her heel and clomped toward the door.

"Wait, Elena," Stefan snapped out of his stupor, "Don't leave. I…we can fix this."

She turned to look at him a final time, "No, Stefan. You can't." She gave him a final warning, "Don't follow me. Don't come looking for me. I am leaving…and I'm not coming back."

She swung the door open and saw Jeremy standing, ready to open the door himself after his shift at the Grill. She nodded, "Jeremy," she acknowledged then swept past him. A few seconds later she was gone.

* * *

Damon was on his way back to the Boarding House when he got the call.

"Elena's gone. She left," Stefan's voice was vacant.

Damon dropped the phone from his ear while Stefan started explaining the whole story. He didn't need to hear it. He knew what happened. She was finally getting out, doing what she had always should have, only to be stopped by obligation and love for the people in town.

Now all of that was gone, so she was doing what she wanted.

He returned the phone to his ear, "I'll find her," he resolved.

"She doesn't want to be found, Damon," he reasoned, "That's not Elena anymore."

"I said I'll find her," Damon barked, "You just stay with Jeremy." Stefan started to protest, so Damon ordered, "And get that deed. We've been sitting ducks for long enough."

* * *

Bonnie stumbled home after a long day of being used by Klaus. After he got his body back, he drank from her and she was knocked unconscious. When she awoke, both Klaus and Tyler's body were gone.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Her father's voice boomed from the dark corners of the front hallway. He walked forward and his broad face was illuminated by the moonlight.

She rolled her eyes, "Dad, today has been hell. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Where were you?" He demanded.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Bonnie…" he warned.

"No, Dad, I don't want to hear it. I'm not out drinking, I don't do drugs, I'm not even having sex!" She calmed herself down and said, "Can you please just stay out of it?"

"I don't know Bon, ever since your Grandmother passed, I feel like you've changed," he crossed his arms over his chest and his forehead crinkled in concern.

"How would you know?" She gritted her teeth, "You haven't even been home long enough to notice."

She knew it was harsh, but she made the decision a long time ago that she would protect her father from reality. He was a hard worker, always out of town on business, and he did it to take care of her, she knew that. So, she was harsh, and it did the trick. He reverted to silence and she made her way across the house to her room.

* * *

Elena pulled off the highway at 4:00 in the morning to one of those dingy chain hotels. She figured between compulsion and the cash she horded before leaving the Salvatores', she could probably stay at The Ritz, but for now, she was sick of driving and just wanted a shower.

She compelled herself a one-bed room at the front desk, slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way up the stairs and down the generically carpeted hallway when she suddenly caught a very familiar scent.

She would have put her key in the room lock except that she found it already slightly ajar. Her body tensed, ready to defend or attack and she kicked the door open with a loud bang. She dropped her bag and sped straight into the room, immediately taking the offensive. She took the intruder, who was lounging on the bed, by the throat.

Damon looked up at Elena from his spot in her clutches. Her hair was cascading over their faces and she was looking at him menacingly. Well, that was an improvement over cold and detached.

Sure, her hands were in a death grip around his throat and he really couldn't breathe, but she was straddling him. So, pros and cons.

He smirked up at her. "I always thought you'd be a little kinky," he choked out.

Instead of releasing him once she recognized who he was, her grip only tightened. "What are you doing here, Damon?" She questioned without a hint of the usual tenderness in her voice, making him flinch inwardly.

He decided not to take it anymore, and exercised his dominance of strength by grunting and flipping her over onto her back, pinning her arms up above her head. He hovered over her, gripping her sides with his knees. "What do you think I'm doing here, _Elena_?" He murmured, his face was inches from hers, their breaths intermingled.

She rolled her eyes from underneath him, her hair was splayed out on the bed. "Always with the backward talking. Between that and the, you know, murder. Is it any wonder I didn't choose you?"

He had a second to process what she said, another second for the pain to settle in his chest, and a final second for her eyes to shift from communicative to murderous before she flipped him back over on his back. This time, she held him down with her hands pressing his chest.

"Of course this," she started rolling her hips around his, "this is something I always wanted from you."

Damon immediately felt himself harden. Elena was straddling him with her hot little body and her long fingers were caressing his neck. He had a pretty good idea where this was going, but he didn't know what to do. So, instead, his body froze. He felt her hot breath in his ear as she whispered, "This is what you've always wanted too. Me and you, alone in a hotel room," she nibbled his ear and his torso jerked in surprise, "after all," she mimicked his words from earlier, "now we have eternity."

He wanted this, oh man, did he want this. But not like this, not in a million years.

Still, though, he couldn't stop her. This was _Elena_, his entire being prevented him from denying her. He reached his hands up and settled them low on her hips and he stroked her bare skin. She moved her lips from his ears to his jaw where she sucked lightly. He moaned in approval, and closed his eyes. She smirked into his neck, where she left deep, tonguing kisses. After reaching the base of his throat she lifted her head and looked at Damon.

His eyes were squeezed shut and his fingers were digging into her sides. Ever since she turned, she had been plagued with the intense urge to jump him, but she was with Stefan, and she was so scared of what being with Damon meant. Now, she wasn't with Stefan, and as far as Damon was concerned, she really didn't care.

She looked at his lips. Everyone was always talking about Damon's eyes, how unnaturally electric blue they were, and it was true, sometimes she was unnerved by how they looked through her and sent little shocks down her spine to her toes. But, those lips. Those lips had been teasing Elena from the day she met him, and she only let ever let herself indulge three times, now.

Time to change that.

She placed his head in a lock between her hands and she attacked his mouth with hers. She pressed her lips and her torso into him with all of her new strength, breathing in deeply with her heightened senses.

Elena was free. She was no longer burdened with all the weight of indecision and guilt. Without a single inhibition in her way, every vice she had shamed away into the back of her mind could emerge.

The only problem was when she moved her lips, his didn't reciprocate.

"Elena," he finally spoke.

She took advantage of the opening and sucked hard on his bottom lip, grinding her hips into him again for good measure.

He let a moan escape, but wrenched his head to the side in rebellion. She pouted and made do with his neck.

"Elena," he repeated.

She ignored him and reached her hands up to wrap around his neck.

He growled and finally pushed her from him onto the bed in front of him and he quickly sat up. The absence of her warmth was uncomfortable. He hated the empty feeling she left behind. Even worse, though, was the dry lump that was stuck in his throat, and the ache in his chest when he looked into her unfeeling eyes.

She glared at him from where she was ungracefully set at the foot of the bed. He felt like it was the night Katherine rejected him all over again. She wanted to use his body, he wanted her heart. He hated how vulnerable he suddenly was and he fidgeted with the blanket.

Only this wasn't Katherine, this was Elena, and everything he felt for her was justified and real.

He looked up at her bashfully. She had recovered from her anger and instead was looking at him with indifference.

He cocked his eyebrow, waiting for her to speak and they locked eyes for a few moments.

Elena felt a twinge near her heart when she saw open sadness in Damon's expression, but it quickly went away and then she was just left with a welcoming bed with a sexually unwilling vampire taking up half.

She looked at Damon and shrugged, "Whatever. If it's not happening tonight, I'm going to sleep. I have a day of being tortured to sleep off."

Damon flinched at the reminder and watched as she crawled to the head of the bed and flopped down. She shimmied from her jeans and pealed off her sweater leaving her in just her panties and a white camisole. He watched as her skin was revealed, only to be concealed again when she snuggled under the covers.

She turned her back to him and closed her eyes. He looked at her, unsure what to do when she spoke up curtly, "If you're going to stay, you might as well take off your shoes."

He smirked to himself. He didn't know why, but something about what she said gave him hope. She might have switched off her humanity, but that didn't mean she was suddenly Katherine. It still hurt, watching the way her whole stature conveyed how completely she had checked out from the world, but that didn't mean she suddenly became manipulative and full of hate. No, Elena had her own demons.

He got up to shut the door. When he returned to the bed, she removed his shoes and shucked his jacket. He paused, then shrugged to himself. If she was going without pants, then so was he. After shedding them he lifted the covers to join her. He hesitated before giving in and scooting closer to her. She felt it and moved slightly toward him. He reached to her without knowing her reaction or desires, and lightly put his hand on her waist. She didn't object. So, he took the next step and moved his body to hers. She rolled her eyes inwardly and molded her body to his.

Damon raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he wasn't about to argue with this turn of events, so her wrapped his arm around her tiny waist and pulled her tightly against him. He buried her nose in her neck and inhaled deeply. Again, she didn't object. He couldn't figure out why, but he took advantage of it. He got to remind himself that she was still Elena. She still smelled as intoxicating as ever, when their skin touched his whole body responded the way it always did, and the way the world seemed to stop whenever she was around, did just that.

Damon didn't get any sleep that night, and he held onto her for dear life as her breathing evened out and she descended into slumber. For now, she was there, but he could feel her slipping through his fingers. His mind was screaming in panic in anticipation of what was to come, but for now, he just held her, hoping the storm would hold off for a while.

* * *

Author's Note: So, there it is, the end of Stelena and the beginning of Elena's life without emotions...with a tick of a Damon at her side, of course. :)


End file.
